The Lost Clan of Whirpool
by The Open-Eyed Day Dreamer
Summary: Every single shinobi nation thought that this clan was wiped out from the face of of the shinobi world... Oh how wrong they were. The dreaded and most powerful clan to ever walk in this world is back from nearly twenty years of extinction. And when they seek their lost prince to take him back to his rightful home, not everything goes according to plan...
1. The Lost Clan Returns

**The Lost Clan Returns**

…

_Thinking/ Indention/ Flashbacks/ Fantasies_

**Kyuubi talking to Naruto in mindscape/ Naming a jutsu/ bold indention**

_**Kyuubi talking telepathically to Naruto/ Calling out a jutsu/ Bold words**_

…

**Konnichiwa minna-san! (Hello everyone!) 'Tis I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL STORY SORCERESS THE OPEN-EYED DAY DREAMER! BOW BEFORE ME IN ALL OF MY GLORY! Kidding, you don't have to really do that (unless you want to which I totally don't mind).**

**Anyway, this is a heads up for all of you Naruto-lover's, or if you have never heard of Naruto (which I can't believe but there are some people out there like that [one of my friend's has NEVER heard of NARUTO and I was like "WHO ARE YOU?!"]), then this goes out to you just generally awesome fanfiction lovers! And if you are a first time visitor on my profile to read my stories, then I thank you very much for going out of your way to see little ol' me!**

**KK, this story has A LOT of samurai bashing in here! And this story was based off of this mastermind fanfiction writer of a genius:** _Lord Rahl Master of D'Hara!_** Just a heads up! If you don't like the samurai then DEAL. I thought of this and there's no way I'm backing down!**

**Sit back, relax, and let you mind get blown and its brain guts spill everywhere because YOU ARE READING MY AWESOME NEW STORY! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

…

* * *

It was late at night and the Village Hidden in the Leaves seemed to be in its slumber. With all of its villagers hitting the hay, save a few, it seemed like Konohagakure was a ghost town. There were few Leaf shinobi that were stationed at the main gates that were built into the village's enormous concrete walls. The calm still air suddenly ripened and thrashed around into mild and biting winds. Up, up, on a hill that seemed to touch the full moon, stood two silhouetted figures whose shadows grew by the moon's eerie, yet beautiful light.

One figure, if you looked up close, had his arms crossed as he stared down at the sleeping village with contempt. He had short spiky red hair, with unusually long bangs and sharp, violet eyes. He wore a red hitai-ate [1] that had a maelstrom on it for its symbol. He also wore a long red scarf and red armor which composed of a breastplate, with four red plates protecting his legs that were attached to them, identical shoulder pads, and matching arm and leg guards. He also wore a black belt, where a pouch was attached that stored his weapons, and a sleek katana blade in his waist. He had a cigar in his mouth that he kept swishing around because of his itching impatience.

The other figure was shorter than the previous one and had a slightly smaller build. He had beautifully pale skin and slightly droopy eyes that were looking at the village with calm, cool, and collective sea-green eyes. His hair was long and tied into a ponytail that stopped at his mid back. His hair was semi-spiky and he had two long strands that framed his elfish face handsomely. His hair was colored silver and glimmered in the moonlight, as if white fire had set it aglow. He also wore similar samurai attire like his counterpart, but his uniform was colored white hand he had duel blades strapped to his sides by a black cloth that hugged his waist.

"This it?" The first figure said in a deep, gruff voice. By his voice, he did not sound pleased one bit.

The second figure nodded, laying a single pale hand on one of his duel katana blades. "Yes. The Lord Daimyo has specifically said that this village is currently housing the lost Prince."

The first man turned towards his partner and grinned. His smile looked slightly frightening, as if he was itching for a fight. "And if anyone gets in our way, Masayoshi?" He asked.

The newly dubbed Masayoshi sighed in an exasperated manner. "Akihiko, the Lord Daimyo has specifically instructed that we_ do not _engage with any civilian or shinobi that are housed in the _entirety_ of this village." Masayoshi berated the man Akihiko with an annoyed tone. "He doesn't want to cause any more trouble that there's _going to be_ in the near future."

Akihiko grunted before he took a deep swig of his cigar. He took it out and that crazy smile of his returned, if only slightly. "Aw c'mon Masa. You and I both know that you want to burn this village to the ground just as much as I do." He raised a brow. "Or is it because of your _girlishly_ body that you _oh-so _desperately want to keep _oh-so_ perfect."

Masayoshi, or Masa for short, glared at his partner. The short man was considered to be very handsome by woman because he almost looked like a woman as well. His porcelain skin was never scarred, his gorgeous long hair always silky smooth, and his sparkling eyes always remained soft and full of compassion for others. Even towards his enemies. Towards the women, he was the perfect man, towards the men; he was just a _pretty-boy_.

"Very well then," The silvered-haired man growled as his grip on his katana blade tightened. He absolutely _hated_ to be mocked. If anyone ever did, besides Akihiko, well… Let's just say they were going to be missing a few of their limbs when he was finished with them. "If they should attack us first, then we shall retaliate _only_ _in self-defense_… You got that, Akihiko?" Masayoshi said, narrowing his sea-green eyes at his partner.

The red-haired man looked at his friend with mock hurt. "Why Masa, are you sayin' that you, my best friend, can't trust me?"

"That is _precisely_ what I am saying." Was all he said before the short samurai warrior of the two began to bound off towards the village.

"Ouch." Akihiko said before he chuckled and hopped away to catch up with his friend.

…

Two guards that were stationed out in front of the frontal main gates that lead into the Leaf Village were yawning tiredly as the slow and still night dragged on. They were bored for night duty was the most tiresome missions the Chūnin were assigned to do. As stated as their rank, Leaf Chūnin were the best in their prime, for they had that feel of revelry and excitement that greatly influenced the village in many ways.

But if they were stuck on night duty, the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would have a lot of complaints once their shifts were over.

"You see anything?" One guard ask the other. He was a male with a fair build, and he wore his hitai-ate securely on his forehead, the metal plate gleaming in the moonlight as the Leaf Village's insignia that was etched into had a beautiful glow to it. He also wore the standard Leaf shinobi uniform which consisted of: a green flak jacket, dark navy blue pants, and blue shinobi sandals. The man head his head in his hand as they sat at their station's desk and his eyes were drooping as sleep tried to overtake him.

His partner was a female with long black hair and had bags under her eyes from staying up soo long. She also wore the standard attire but she had black sandals and black pants. Her lips, which was coated elegantly in red lipstick, pursed in annoyance as her guarding companion asked the same question he had twelve times already.

She should know, because she had been counting. It was the only thing to do on this boring night.

The kunoichi [2] sighed before she grabbed the binoculars that were placed on their desk and held it up to her eyes. Her head would tilt for time to time, examining everything should could from the world outside of the village. Before she could report negative for the umpteenth time, she suddenly saw two mysterious figures walking down the road towards them, five meters away.

"What is it?" The ninja asked. He saw his partner tense up when she focused on a particular spot for a longer examination than the other previous areas.

"Two suspicious characters five meters due north." The woman reported, in her binocular vision, the two figures suddenly vanished. She gasped. "They've disappeared! We must warn—!" She stopped in mid-sentence when she heard a loud thump behind her. Fast as lighting, she whipped her head around to see two men dressed in red armour. The one with red hair and a smug grin on her face winked at her. The other one, who was much shorter than the first, held up one hand to her face.

"_**Sleep**_." Was all he said before she felt her vision slip her and the small nip of sleepiness she once felt, suddenly washed over like a tsunami. Her knees wobbled before she staggered back and hit the station's walls with her backside. Her knees wobbled before they gave and she lay there, with her head hanging, as the sweet comfort of slumber overtook her.

The last thing she remembered before she wasted away into unconsciousness was a painted eye that pulsed red on the silver-haired man's right hand.

Masayoshi sighed in relief at his success. He had managed to subdue the two shinobi without them setting off the alarms or screaming for assistance. He turned his right hand over and stared at his palm. That eye on his hand wasn't painted, it was a mark that was forever burned on his hand. But that story would be for another day (**A/N: Or in this case, another chapter**) …

His marked eye pulsed one more time before it cooled and faded away. Masayoshi narrowed his eyes. He knew it would come back if he applied chakra into it, but the man never liked to use it for reasons not many people knew.

The dashing young man was brought out of his reminisces when a hand clapped against his back. Hard. "Ha ha ha! Nice work Masa! Those bumbling Leaf idiots had no idea what they were in for! Those fools!" Akihiko said with a large grin stretching upon his lips.

Masa just raised a brow. "I have no comprehension of why it is that you make fun of the Leaf shinobi. Your sister was a Leaf shinobi here as well, yet you do not think of her to be an idiot no?"

That made Akihiko clamp his mouth shut. His sister was named Kushina Uzumaki. After their homeland, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, had gotten destroyed, the two were separated from the panic of the attack. Akihiko was lucky and had managed to find his family and the others and rebuilt the nation again, but he had seen or heard of no hind or tail of his beloved younger sister.

Years had passed and Akihiko had grown into a young teen before he became a strong male adult. During those years, the samurai was in a deep and spiraling depression over the loss of his younger sister all those years ago. But when his father, the Daimyo of their homeland, had received news from their spy network that Kushina was alive and well, Akihiko was happy beyond belief. He was soo happy that he cried for three whole days! He asked if he could go fetch her, and his father said yes but after two months.

Just as he was about to go aboard the ships and round up his men to bring the lost princess back home, a messenger had come and told him of Kushina's death. And this one was real. Akihiko demanded the assassin who had murder his kin, and the messenger had shakily told him that it was the Kyuubi no Yoko, or called the Nina-Tailed fox, that had killed the woman.

The redhead male was devastated and went back into his depressive state again. He had even taken up new habits which were drinking and smoking. It was only then that his best friend Masayoshi, or formally known as Masayoshi Tanaka, managed to bring him out of his funk. The two men had been best friends since their early childhood, and did almost everything together. It affected Masa just as much as it had done Akihiko. Kushina was a very important person in their lives: Akihiko, his one and only sister; Masayoshi, his first love (**A/N: Kushina didn't know that Masa had fallen in love with her… It was more of a one-sided thing**).

But they received news from Akihiko's father four years later that Kushina had had a son named Naruto Uzumaki. Both friends demanded the name of the father. Akihiko for information of his new nephew and Kushina's legacy, and Masa for information on who it was who had stolen his love away from him. The Daimyo told them that it was a man named Minato Namikaze, and the two men were hushed with shocked silence.

They knew of the name of Minato Namikaze, how could they not? That man was rumored everywhere in all surrounding five shinobi nations. He was called_ Konoha's Yellow Flash, the Yondaime Hokage_, and in some rare cases he was called the _Child of Prophecy_. But the most important and spellbinding title the man had, was the _Savior of the World_.

The man had also won a ton of respect over in Akihiko's hometown. When the redhead had asked where the man was now, his father had responded that the extraordinary man had died. The two samurai were shock and they immediately asked why. The Daimyo had said that he had fought alongside Kushina when she was fighting the Kyuubi. Minato had managed to seal the demon away into a newborn babe, but he died after the process, lying by Kushina's side with peaceful smiles on their faces.

Those words alone made Akihiko tear up and Masa's tears roll down his cheeks softly as he looked at the ground with an empty stare. And when Akihiko asked his father one finally question of who was the person that was the Kyuubi's next Jinchuriki, the old man sighed before he said—

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Akihiko breathed out, before he puffed out a ring of smoke out of his mouth.

"Akihiko," Masayoshi drawled out in slight annoyance, "you did not answer my earlier question."

"Yeah yeah yeah." The redhead grunted dismissively as he waved a sluggish hand around in the air. "Kushi's no idiot, I assure you, but I never got her sense of home though." He said as he looked inside the village and at its buildings with a sneer.

"Indeed." Masa said before he began to walk ahead of the tall man with soft, graceful steps. Akihiko followed after him, his hand on his katana blade and his grip on the hilt loose and lazy, and his steps loud and hard.

"Hey Masa." Akihiko said after a long moment of comfortable silence. The man didn't say anything but Akihiko knew he was listening. "You know about Naruto's status… don't you…?"

The silver-haired man inclined his head to his partner who was looking straight ahead with a serious expression etched on his face. Masayoshi looked straight ahead with his eyes turning serious as well. "Of course I do. Our entire platoons and majority of the villagers back homeward do. Why do you ask, Battousai?"

The powerful man chuckled at the title. Back in his home village and majority of the west Akihiko Uzumaki was known as the Battousai, or Manslayer for short. The reason being, he was the leading general of the entirety of his village's samurai unit. And during his depressive state of his sister's fake and real death, Akihiko still had to carry out missions. Excruciatingly hard missions, that no other samurai took because majority of them seemed like the person whoever went on them, would never return.

But Akihiko and Masayoshi took them on a regular basis.

When he was depressed and still mourning over his sister, his heart became cold and steeled itself, so no more pain and suffering would be inflicted upon it. On these missions, there was a lot of assassination missions. And Akihiko didn't care one bit. With his heart locked away, he became a killing machine throughout the western and southeastern elemental nations. He always succeeded and completed his missions, but he would always return home with blood stained clothes and armour and a katana that was covered in red and dripped a path of blood as he dragged it along on the ground.

Some called him _the Red Death_, some called him the _Shinigami_ [3] himself but in a human form, but everyone knew him as the dreaded _Battousai of the Whirlpool nation_.

"Oh, so we're calling each other by our titles now huh?" Akihiko grinned. "Well then, Hitokiri [4] Masayoshi, what do you think I mean?" Akihiko was not the only one of the duo that had a well-known title that was fear amongst the nations. Whenever he and Akihiko went on very dangerous, or S-Class missions, Masayoshi used stealth and tactics rather than Akihiko's brute force style.

The silver-haired man was known throughout the west as Hitokiri, or _the Skilled Assassin_ for short. Masa's moves were swift and quick and he cut down his enemies in a matter of seconds. If he was ever facing shinobi, which was majority of the times, he would sometimes cut them down with a single blow and leave them to bleed to death without even casting their jutsus. But the most mystifying but disturbing part about him and his skills was that when he came back home from an assassination mission…

There was no speck of blood on his armour of clothes whatsoever.

Masayoshi sighed and shook his head before his gaze suddenly turning serious. "I think that what you were previously stating was what I thought of the lost Prince Naruto's title as Jinchuriki… Were you not?"

Akihiko grunted but didn't say anything. Masayoshi just gave a hollow smirk at his response. "I think that the young prince's… _tenant_ will be very beneficial to him. It will aid him in his—"

"Damn it Masa, that's not what I meant!" The red headed man growled as he round on his partner in bubbling rage. The smaller man just looked at him with unflinching eyes, not the least bit terrified of his friend's increasing anger. "I mean what you really feel about him being Jinchuriki! Like _feel_ feel…"

Masayoshi went silent, still staring at his friend with his face gone impassive. It was a full five minutes before he spoke once again. "I think it is, as you say it, _cool_." He remarked, putting emphasis on the word "cool". "I see it as the lost prince having a gift rather than a curse that he just needs to learn how to control. All of our men think so and majority of the villagers back in the Whirlpool Nation, who know of it, feel the same way as well. Rest assured, Prince Naruto will be seen as a hero, _not_ a demon."

With that said, the Battousai felt much more at ease as they strolled in the shadows of the Leaf village. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. _They accept him…_ Akihiko thought as he felt a smile tug at his lips. _Good… Now Naruto will be fully accepted into his real home with no problem…_ He suddenly felt an arm stop him from proceeding forward.

It was Masayoshi and the man was in a slightly crouched position as he stared at something with hawk-like eyes. Curious, the redhead followed his best friend's gaze and locked on to a group of men, no more than five or six, crowd around together holding sharps objects.

_Looks like they're going out on a hunt…_ Akihiko thought, staring at the men lazily. Something clicked, and the powerful man was on guard in an instant. _Or on a fox hunt…! _It only confirmed his suspicions when he tuned into the men's conversation.

"You guys all set?" One asked as he held a pitchfork in an iron tight grip.

"Yeah," one replied, twiddling his dagger impatiently in his hands, "let's just hurry up and kill that Uzumaki brat and be done with it!"

"We just can't go barging in the orphanage like barbarians, we'll have to be subtle about it."

"Yeah, it'll do everyone good once that demon brat is wiped out from the face of the earth forever!"

The men all cheered while Akihiko _and_ Masa _both_ growled in anger. Akihiko's cigar was snapped in two, one piece hitting ground first before he spat out the other, and Masa's eyes hardened as he gripped his duel katana blades with both hands.

"Akihiko." Masayoshi said quietly.

"Yeah, I heard." The dangerous man said as he started to slow walk towards the men. "Masa, you go get the kid and go see the Hokage… I'll take care of the trash."

Masayoshi stared at his partner as the man started to steady gain closer towards his prey. The redhead drew out his katana blade and it gleamed in the moonlight. Akihiko's katana blade was beautifully crafted with a black and red hilt with tidbits of gold vines wrapping around it, and the blade was black with a red underbelly.

Masa sighed at his reckless companion. "Hai, Battousai." He whispered as he kneeled down on one knee and a fist was placed firmly to the ground. _Some things will never change…_ The short man thought before he vanished into the night in a haze of sweet smelling mist.

* * *

"Who the hell are you?!" One man shouted from the earlier group of men. They raised their pitchforks and other sharp weapons at the intruder. A man with red hair and wearing red armour had suddenly come up to them as he was dragging a weirdly designed sword on the ground.

"Oh… just a passerby is all." He said in a dark and slightly disturbing voice. All of the men knew that there was something… _off_ about this redheaded man. They just couldn't put their finger on it. "I here you guys are going on a hunt… that true?" the newcomer suddenly said out of the blue.

"Yeah, we're going to go kill that demon brat once and for all!" A man shouted with his subordinates murmuring in agreement.

The ginger just tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Demon brat… you mean that Naruto Uzumaki kid?"

"Exactly! That boy has been causing nothing but trouble with his pranks and grief by his mere existence!" The man with the pitchfork shouted. He suddenly blinked and pointed a finger at him. "Wait… you're new here right?" The newcomer nodded slowly. "How do you know about the demon brat…?"

The redhead man smiled a dark and twisted smile. It was as if bucket loads of wickedness had suddenly befallen him as he rolled of a suffocating wash of killer intent towards the rioting men. He suddenly lifted his sword high in the air as his smile grew more warped. "Because that demon brat as you call him… is _my nephew_."

The men cowered against each other in fear as the sword wielding manic started taking slow but menacing steps towards them. Their screams could be heard throughout the night until they came to an abrupt end and silence once again filled the air.

Akihiko wiped a large blotch of blood that was splattered against his cheek. He stared at the six deformed bodies on the ground. Gallons of blood continuously flowed from their corpses and soaked their clothing.

Akihiko rummaged in his pockets under his armour until he took out another cigar and a match. He scraped the match against his breastplate and lit his cigar. Akihiko looked at his lit match and the bodies down below. With a shrug and a sigh, he threw the match at the bleeding corpses and they immediately set fire.

_That way their'll be no evidence of my doing…_ He thought as he turned on his heel and began to walk towards the Hokage Tower; not caring in the least as the fire continued to spread and licked at the buildings walls that it came a cross. _Oh well…_ He smirked as he stuffed his hands back into his pockets. _Looks like I'm gonna be at the Hokage Tower first than Masa… in more ways than one…_ He looked back to see people waking from their slumber and gathering around the fire, screaming and panicking as they did so. He also saw some Leaf Village ANBU started to make their way over to the commotion and quickly hosed down the fire with their water jutsu.

"Che. Idiots." Akihiko grumbled before his body started to waver and flicker and then he disappeared into thin air, as if he had never existed.

* * *

A keeper of the Konohagakure Orphanage was checking off marks on a clip board as she examined each and every of the slumbering orphans. She was about to walk out of the one of the sleeping quarters to the next one until she saw a handsome man in white armour standing in front of the only exit. She blushed when she saw his beautiful sea-greens focus on her with scrutiny.

"M-May I help you sir?" The woman stammered as she unconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The man was silent for a moment before he began to walk towards her with soft steps.

_Click. Clack. Click. Clack. _His footsteps echoed throughout the room with an eerie and slightly disturbing sound. The keeper heard warning bells go off in the back of her skull but she ignored it as her attention was captured by the beautiful creature that was now standing in front of her.

"Yes… You can…" He said in a husky voice. The woman's heart thundered loudly in her chest as her knees began to wobble uncontrollably. "I am looking for a boy with blonde hair and three whisker marks upon each of his cheeks… Do you know who he is?"

The woman stopped her swooning for a moment to scowl at the man. "You want Naruto Uzumaki? That good-for-nothing troublemaker? Surely you aren't serious sir?"

The man sighed before he tilted her chin up with a long, slender, and pale finger. His eyes softened into a sultry gaze before his thin lips smiled, showing off his perfectly pearly white teeth. "Yes him, my sweet. Do you know as to where I can find the young boy?" He cooed as he scratched under her gently with his finger.

The woman instantly started to swoon over the man as her previous disgust was washed away instantaneously. Tiny hearts were in her eyes as she started to squirm shyly in place. "Wh-Why yes sir… He is just down the hall at sleeping quarters "A" which is located on the left."

The silver-haired man smiled at her charmingly, making her squeal with delight. "Thank you very much for your assistance. I'm afraid I will not need you now." She looked at him curiously and began she could ask what he meant; his hand suddenly lashed out and grabbed her face. A weird marking on that hand pulsed and she instantly fell into unconsciousness.

…

Masayoshi sighed as he gently picked up the woman and placed her against the wall next by a bed that a messy brunette orphan was currently occupying. The samurai straightened up and made his way towards his next destination. Sleeping Quarters Letter A.

_This is going all according to plan…_ Masa thought, albeit a little skeptically. _A little too well…_ The man turned into the designated place and saw another room filled with sleeping orphans. Masa instantly saw bright blonde hair and smiled as he started to make his way over to the blonde.

_Click. Clack. Click. Clack._ His soft yet rhythmatic steps filled the entire room and seemed to reverberate throughout the furniture and the young children's small forms. But none stirred for the skilled assassin's steps were too soothing to awake from their deep slumber.

The silver-haired man stood next by Naruto's bed and took a good look at the young lad. He looked to be about four years old and was wearing a white shirt that was tattered and worn out, and black shorts that seemed to be ripped in a few places. His blue sandals seemed to be in good condition, which was alright aside from his clothes.

Masa frowned before he slipped a single finger under the lads shirt and lifted it up enough so the nab could see the young boy's torso. The lad's form was small, waifish, and severely underdeveloped. You could plainly see his ribs as his tanned skin hugged against the bones tightly, and Masayoshi could see scars, cuts, and bruises littered in many places across his small form.

_Just as I thought…_ Masayoshi growled softly as he gently covered the blonde's torso once again. _It seems our young prince was neglected and abused even though he should be deemed as a hero for imprisoning a great threat that could very much wipe out this pathetic and ungrateful village… Not that I wouldn't mind the old fox of doing so…_ The short man looked into the boy's face and saw him snoozing loudly, but soundly. Naruto seemed to be in a heavenly dream, given his carefree facial expression, with slightly pink cheeks and a big smile on his face. His small limbs were stretched haphazardly on the bed with his cover cast aside on the floor.

Masa smiled softly with joy, amusement, and regret flashing through his eyes. He was certainly still hung up on Kushina and still loved the woman very much, but he thought the least he could do for her was take care of her son as much as he could.

"Well… _If_ I can. I'm pretty sure Akihiko will be hogging up the young Prince's time and probably won't let me get a chance to even _speak_ to him." Masayoshi mused as he smiled softly. He looked down at Naruto before the man picked up the boy in his strong arms, carrying him bridal style. Masa quickly ran out of the orphanage with sudden, deathly silent steps before he began to hop away from the building towards the Hokage Tower.

The white clad armored man shifted his sea-green eyes to the corner of his eyes before they narrowed. _It seems I have some pursuers on my trail…_ The short man smiled a slightly smug smile as he sped up his hopping. _This_ _night shall be most… entertaining…_

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, was sitting in his office as he sighed some documents with heavy shoulders. He was dressed in his white Hokage robes as his hat was placed securely on his head. The Sandaime sighed heavily as he finished another mission report; this particular report was especially long because of a misunderstanding that a few ANBU were sent on. Boy was that messy.

"I'm getting too old for this." The elderly man muttered to himself as he picked up another few pages of paper and got to work. Before he could even place his pen on a single sheet of paper, the door to the office suddenly burst open, splintered in half. Hiruzen jumped up at the sudden action as saw a foot still sitting in the air as dust and wood shavings fluttered around the office, creating a cloud of grey smoke. The foot was lowered and a large figure entered the room.

"Are you Hiruzen Sarutobi?" The figure asked in a deep, gruff voice, putting the old veteran on guard. "Hokage of this ungrateful village?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. He didn't know who this man was, but he'd be darned if he'd let anyone bad mouth his home. Especially to some complete stranger who broke down his down. That… very expensive door…

The elder Sarutobi sighed as he rubbed in temples, displaying a rare sight of annoyance with a slight mixture of anger. "I am he. And do you know how much that door costs?" The Hokage mumbled to the stranger.

The newcomer, who Hiruzen finally could see a bit well, had spiky red hair with sleek red armour and piercing violet eyes. The Fire Shadow noticed that the newcomer's red armour had giant blotches of crimson on it that was _not_ a part of the armour. The old man didn't seem to react, but his jaw tightened in apprehension.

The redhead smirked at the old man's words, his cigar tilting upwards with his smile. "You're pretty funny for an old geezer, ya know that?" The samurai's merry tone was cut off as quickly as it came. His violet eyes hardened and they blazed in a torrent of heavily controlled and focused anger. "But enough with the chit-chat and let's cut to the chase, _buddy_. You Leaf Village goons have taken something that is rightful mine. Give it back, and there'll be no problems… _Capiche_?"

Hiruzen was slightly shocked at the man's statement, but he was back on his guard in a nano-second. He met the mysterious man's fiery gaze with his own as his hand slipped quietly towards a red button under his desk. "I have no idea what you are talking about. As far as I am concerned, neither I nor the Leaf owes you anything. I don't even know who you are."

The redhead's anger washed away before he blinked. He, all of a sudden, let out a hearty laugh that made Hiruzen blink in surprise. The redhead started to rub the back of his head sheepishly as he waved a lazy hand at the veteran. "Oh my bad. Forgot to tell you about that huh? Ha ha! Well, the name's Akihiko Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, and this…" He suddenly pointed to his right just as another man appeared, kneeling on one knee, as if on cue. He had long silver hair tied in a ponytail and wore white armour unlike his cohort. He held a small child in his hands and the old shinobi grimaced as he saw a large tuft of bright, blonde, spiky hair. Naruto.

"… Is what you owe me." The man, or Akihiko, told the Sandaime with a smug grin.

Hiruzen gritted his teeth as he watched the persecutor demand Naruto. The young boy was like a grandson to him, and he always managed to make the years wash away from the old Sarutobi every time the boy filled him with joy; even if the brat was a troublemaker. The Sandaime slammed a fist on his desk as he stood up from his seat. Documented papers scattered everywhere as the old man focused his blazing eyes at the two men. Neither men flinched and just stared at the Hokage with an impassive face.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he remembered something. That redheaded man had just told him that his name was Akihiko _Uzumaki_ and he came from Whirlpool. But the wrinkly shinobi originally thought that the Uzumaki Clan and the Hidden Whirlpool Village was wiped out from existence in the Second Great Shinobi War! But there were _two living, breathing evidences_ that the lost clan and village still lived on.

And since this Akihiko Uzumaki claims to be a relative of Naruto Uzumaki, Hiruzen had no jurisdiction over the boy anymore.

Akihiko smirked at the man and lifted up his chin arrogantly. "What's the matter old timer? Uzumaki got your tongue?"

The Hokage flashed the man a menacing look before he slowly sat back down and slumped in his chair. Today was _not_ a good day for him. First were the humongous stacks of papers he had to fill out, then he had to deal with the council's riot almost _every day_ of little unnecessary things, his teammate Danzo wanting to put Naruto under his twisted ranks, and now _this_. How heavenly.

"So tell me," the Sandaime began as he looked at the men with an exhausted gaze, "what is your familial relationship with Naruto?"

The ginger just seemed to grin happily and that made the old Sarutobi began to get unsettled by his smile. This man, this Akihiko, his smiles weren't normal whatsoever. They all were fake and each one seemed to have a way of saying_, I promise your death will be quick._ It made the Hokage sweat along his neck.

"Oh Naruto? He's just my dear little nephew." Akihiko said as he chuckled darkly. "My little sis Kushina should've told you that, but it seems she's playing poker with Kami right now."

That made Sarutobi gawk incredulously at the man. Kushina Uzumaki, had a brother, and he was standing right in front of him? "B-But… Kushina never said anything about having a brother, much less a family!" Sarutobi shouted.

"Funny how things work out huh?" The samurai said grinning, before his look turned into a cold glare that made the temperature in the room drop. It made the Fire Shadow's old brittle bones creak and moan as he made the simplest movements. "Like how you neglected to take the consideration of Whirlpool's new Prince!" Akihiko hissed angrily.

Hiruzen sighed in defeat and felt the overwhelming pain of shame, guilt, and failure. He had failed to find Naruto the proper home he so deserved, he had failed to show the way of the world to the boy, he had failed to make the village see him as a hero, but most shamefully of all… He had failed his student and unfortunate processor, Minato Namikaze, of taking care of his only son.

"So…" The Hokage croaked out as he held his tired wrinkled face in his hands. "Are you going to take away Naruto…?"

Akihiko stared at the man for a moment, a brow raised at the man's demeanor. The geezer looked as if his body had put on more years in an instant and all of the fires in his eyes were washed away. The Battousai was confused as why the powerful shinobi in front of him looked soo… _depressed_…

_Well that wasn't what my old man described to me about this old man…_ Akihiko thought as he scratched the back of his head. He looked down at Masayoshi who was still kneeling on one leg and clutching onto the whiskered child in a gentle, yet firm grip. His friend just looked up at him and shrug, just as perplexed as he was.

Akihiko sighed as he swished his cigar in his mouth before he looked up at the concrete ceiling. "Yeah…" He finally answered, exhaling a large cloud of smoke.

Hiruzen flinched before his shoulders sagged and his old heart grew heavy. "I… I see…" He whispered softly as he linked his fingers together on his desk.

"But," Akihiko drawled out before he rummaged in his pocket and threw a scroll at the old geezer. Hiruzen caught it and looked at it skeptically before he opened it and began to read. "My old man or formally known as the Daimyo of Whirlpool and the leader of the illustrious Uzumaki Clan, states in the scroll that he wants the bad blood between you Leaf idiots and us to end. He's such a softie." Akihiko snorted, making Masa smile at his friend in amusement.

Sarutobi's old eyes widened in surprise once he read Akihiko's statement in the scrolls fine print. But there was something in the message that made Hiruzen very confused… and very weary. "It also says here that in order for the alliance to be reinstated once again, Naruto must marry one of Konoha's clan heirs? Why is that?" He asked.

Akihiko sighed and blew out a ring of smoke in annoyance. "Pops still doesn't quite trust ya, something all we Whirlpool samurai agree on too, so he wants do the CRA (_Clan Restoration Act_) with one heir and all of the Hidden Whirlpool's relations will _only_ be transferred to that clan."

Hiruzen stroked his goatee in deep thought. A _Clan Restoration Act_? That hasn't happened since the Second Great Ninja War! The CRA was banished from Konoha all those years ago when the rioting of clan's had grown too unbearable and violent that it nearly caused a civil war in the Village Hidden in the Leaves when there was a war being fought at that time! He wondered about how the clanhead's of the shinobi clans would react?

Would they be okay with it, or would they profusely reject it? He would have to call back the council once again tonight.

Getting on with business, Hiruzen straightened up his back and gazed into the eyes of the samurai with a neutral stare. "Tell me Akihiko-san, do you perhaps have a clan already in mind?"

Now that made Akihiko stop and think. He folded his arms and teetered his weight from side to side as his foot tapped against the floor at a fast pace. His brows furrowed in frustration and his teeth would occasionally grind on the tip of his cigar. From this action, Hiruzen could plainly see the similarities of him and Naruto. Hiruzen would see Naruto do that sometimes (**A/N: minus the cigar and the biting on it**) if he was in deep thought; it was a spitting image. Truly this man was the boy's uncle.

Akihiko bit on his cigar in annoyance when his brain didn't pull up anything about the situation. He hated to think, his usually course of action would usually just beat the living daylights out of people to get his answers. But he couldn't beat himself up to get his desired answers right now… well… physically that is…

_Crap it all to hell!_ Akihiko screamed in his mind, his biting slowly turning into chomping. _Did Kushi mention any friends that she might have had over in this backwater village?!_ He racked his brain for answers but he continued to draw up a blank. That is until something finally clicked in his brain. It was about fourteen years ago when he was only fifteen years old and the villagers and surviving clan members of the Uzumaki Clan were busy rebuilding their village that had turned into ruins in after the Second Great Ninja War…

…

_FLASHBACK BEGINS_

_Akihiko was hefting a rather large and long pillar of wood to a few carpenters working on the new home for the Uzumaki Clan. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt whose sleeves had been ripped off, black pants, and black sandals. It had been about three years since the villagers and surviving clan members had returned to the ruins of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools and every single person has been hard at work trying to rebuild the city to its former glory._

"_Hey, Akihiko-san!" Someone yelled. Said teen turned in that direction with a lazy expression on his face. The carpenter waved him over wear others were busy putting some finishing touches on a roof of a house. "Over here! We need that to support the building!"_

"_Right…" The redheaded teen sighed before he made his way over to the others. He hefted the wooden pillar slowly towards the four men on the ground floor that were busy hammering a pillar to the support beams. Two strayed away from their work to go and get the other pillar from Akihiko._

"_Thank you very much Lord Akihiko." One of the men said as he bowed respectively. The teen just groaned and waved him off before he began walking down a familiar pathway. The four looked at each other before looking back at the distraught teenager again._

_They all had the same thought going through their minds though. He was going to try and look for Kushina Uzumaki again._

_Akihiko stuffed his hands in his pockets and brooded quietly as he lumbered loudly through a pathway he was taking where he last saw his little sister. He gazed out into the opening that had piles of rubble that was still littered on its fields. He sighed and started to make his way through the rubble searching for something, anything that was a sign that his sister was still alive and well._

_After nearly an hour of searching, Akihiko sat down on a boulder as he panted heavily. His shirt had dirt and mud smeared on it and his face had patches of it as well. He had been moving rocks that were twice his size to find anything that his sister may have left behind. He looked down at his hands as the clasped together. He was distressed, tired, and even more so depressed than usual._

_Just when he was about to go back searching again, he suddenly stopped when he saw an abused and slightly ripped piece of paper. It looked as it had a tango with all of the elements and somehow stayed in contact. Curious, the teen picked up the paper and turned it to its front side. It had some words on it so he began to read._

_Dear Big Brother Akihiko,_

_The redheaded teen eyes widened and his grip on the paper grew harder._

_Sup bro! Are you still crying over little ol' me? Ha ha ha! That's just like you to get soo worried about me… though I can't say that I haven't been crying over you and father though… I can't reveal my location to you though, if you ever get the chance to get this message. If I do, then someone will be out to get me and our Uzumaki bloodline, or so what my superiors say._

_It'll get really messy really fast ya know?_

_But I can say that I'm doing really well where I am right now. So you and Papa have no need to worry over me; I can damn well take care of myself ya know! But… ever minute, no, every _second_ of the day, I always wonder how you guys are doing back at home… I really miss it over there, and sometimes… I find myself crying some nights thinking that I'll never get to see you guys again…_

_But, I have to keep strong because one day, we'll see each other again! Dattebane!_

_Akihiko chuckled at his sister's antics. She was still lively even in her writings._

_Oh! And before I forget, I just became a Genin at the ninja village I'm at! I met some really nice people like Hitomi Hyuuga and Mikoto Uchiha. All three of us are on the same Genin squad and we're already the best of friends!_

_There's also this really weird boy named Minato Namikaze. He doesn't talk much and seems to blush a lot. I think he has some sort of weird condition when he stares at me, because whenever he does his face goes completely red! Such a weirdo!_

_So that's pretty much it on my end, but I really hope that I'll get to see you and Papa again really soon… I mean, who's gonna wrestle with me and give me noogies when I'm in a bad mood?_

_Sincerely, Kushina Uzumaki_

_Akihiko felt some silent tears roll down his cheeks as he smiled at the paper in a sad but happy smile. His sister was alive and well. That was all that mattered to the ginger. He gently folded the piece of paper and stuffed it in his pockets. He then started to run away from the ruins and started to make his way back home to tell his father. He'd be excited to hear this._

_FLASHBACK END (KAI!)_

…

Akihiko smiled remorsefully at the memory but he quickly steeled his face to not show any weakness to the enemy-slash-soon-to-be-friends. "Yeah, two candidates actually," Akihiko finally spoke after a long moment of silence, "do you guys have an Uchiha heir?"

Hiruzen raised a brow at Akihiko's request but said nothing. "Yes, but the youngest heir that is Naruto's age is a male." The Hokage thought that it would've been quite amusing to see the Uchiha Clan bicker over this if their heir was a female. He looked at Akihiko smoking calmly on his cigar and that made the old shinobi feel his smoking habits come on. But with a child in the room, he was prevented from doing so because of his morals.

Akihiko just stared at the Hokage with a lazy stare but inwardly he was sighing in relief at the news. He knew about the Uchihas and their stuck up attitudes. If they ever married someone from the Uzumaki Clan, an heir to be exact, it would've boosted their egos even higher. The bunch of pricks. He just hoped that this Hitomi gave birth to a decent enough Hyuuga for the Uzumaki Clan to tolerate. If she didn't… well… there were going to be some problems.

"What about the Hyuuga Clan, hmm?" He asked.

Akihiko's eyes widened a fraction of an inch when he saw the old Hokage give of a warm smile. "Now you my friend have made a good choice." Was all he said as he continued to grin.

"How so Hokage-sama?" This time it was Masayoshi who answered for the first time since they entered the office. He stood up slowly with a still slumbering Naruto in his arms.

Sarutobi just stood up, which made the men stiffen into position. Akihiko's hands instantly gripped the hilt of his sword while Masa tensed his legs getting ready to jump away if it ever called for it. But when they saw the old man turn his back to him to go stand in front of the large window behind his desk, they slowly relaxed themselves.

"Hinata Hyuuga is the heir to the Hyuuga Clan and daughter of the clanhead, Hiashi Hyuuga, and matriarch of the clan, Hitomi Hyuuga." Sarutobi began as if nothing happened. "She's quite an odd one from all of her rigid relatives. Just like her mother."

"Why's that old man?" Akihiko asked curiously. Hiruzen felt a vein pop on his head but he calmed himself down.

He turned to them and clasped his hands together behind his back. "Well… she _is_ a Hyuuga, yet she is _not_ a Hyuuga."

Akihiko seemed thoroughly confused by the man's riddle but Masayoshi immediately got it. It made the silver-haired man smile a little at the Hokage's words.

"Let me explain, Hinata is a very shy and soft-spoken little girl, a _monumental_ difference between her and her relatives. She doesn't talk very much, which is something she has in common with her relatives, but she is very kind and gentle towards the people who are lower than her status, and very much so for those who rank higher than her. The Hyuuga Clan, well, the _Hyuuga Elders_ sees this as a weakness and constantly scolds the girl of her _supposed_ outrageous personality. This has caused the heiress to retreat into a shell of shyness and almost all of her confidence has withered away from the abuse and ridicule she receives daily from the elders."

"What the fuck?!" Akihiko screamed as his hands suddenly slammed loudly onto the Hokage's desk. Miraculously, Naruto didn't wake up, but it made both Hiruzen and Masayoshi wince. "Why are those old farts beating up an _innocent little girl_?! Why haven't you stopped this?! Aren't you the Hokage old man?!" Akihiko roared before he grabbed the Sandaime's robes by the collar and lifted him up into his angry face.

"Yes I am Hokage, but there are even some things that I hold no power over. This is a clan affair, surely you of all people can understand, Akihiko-san." Hiruzen said with a calm voice, not in the least frightened of the situation he was in.

Akihiko growled softly before he let go and started to mumble under his breath. Hiruzen dusted off his robes and continued his speech. "Anyway, although Hinata is less confident than she used to be, her mother and her father are both trying their hardest to bring that little turtle out of her shell. And I know that the marriage will be a success for two reasons really, one: she can escape the possibility of being branded with the **Caged Bird Seal**, and two: it will help her gain her confidence back even faster with Naruto as her husband."

"**Caged Bird Seal** huh?" Masa said in a soft voice, making Akihiko wince at his tone. "I think that was the Uzumaki Clan's most vile creation of all of their seals… Would you not agree, Battousai?"

"Yeah, I don't know what my ancestors were thinking with that piece of shit [5]." Akihiko grumbled. " So what's this about Hinata getting confidence back from the little squirt?" He said, moving on as he flicked Naruto's nose with a finger. The boy's nose wrinkled but he still did not wake up.

_Man… This kid can sleep!_ Akihiko thought as a grin stretched upon his lips before he turned his attention back to the Sandaime.

"It's quite simple really," Sarutobi said with a smile, "Naruto oozes tons of confidence of how he will one day become one of the greatest ninja in Konoha and make everyone look up to him and respect him. And since the boy has much confidence, I figured that Hinata will start to rub off on him and her confidence will begin to build up back to its former glory (**A/N: Remember, Naruto and Hinata are only four years old so Hinata doesn't really know who he is yet**)." Hiruzen sat back down in his chair and linked his fingers together as he smiled. "So what do you think? Do you wish to enact the Uzumaki Clan and the Hyuuga Clan in the CRA?"

Akihiko looked over to his companion who gave him a nod and a happy, if not enthusiastic smile towards him. Akihiko raised a brow, slightly confused by his friend's behavior. Casting that aside for the moment, the ginger then turned his attention back and held out a hand towards the old Sarutobi. The man looked at it before he took it into his own and shook it.

The Battousai of the Whirlpool nation grinned excitedly. "Well I say, you've got yourself a deal, Sandaime Hokage. Let's round up and meet the new in-laws eh?"

* * *

Angry steps could be heard throughout the western section of the Hyuuga Mansion. This angry and supposedly hate fueled steps belonged to none other than Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the mighty Hyuuga Clan. He had long, dark brown hair, and featureless white eyes like all members of his clan. He wore very traditional, loose fitting robes with a long-sleeved, brown haori. And Hiashi, like all of the Hyuuga, took pride in being a member of their powerful clan. As the head of one the Leaf Village's most powerful and influential clan he was a man that valued power, honor, strength, and prestige. He has long since learned how to harness and control his emotions since his early childhood.

However, today was a rare day that he let his emotions leak out. The powerful man was seething with rage and bloodlust as his steps grew into stomps making every Hyuuga in the mansion hear his thundering steps. It was nigh, but all of the servants and other clan members who happened to be awake and traveling down the halls, quickly scurried out of the man's way.

He veered down a corner into a large hallway and slid open the first tatami-matted sliding doors that were located to the left. Once he was inside of his bedroom, his eyes softened greatly at the display that unraveled in front of him. His wife, Hitomi Hyuuga, was sitting on her knees on their shared futon mattress, cradling their daughter Hinata Hyuuga gently in her long, slender arms. She wore the traditional Hyuuga garb like him, but hers was styled in the color of dark purple with her obi tied into a large bow on her back.

Hitomi craned her neck to see her husband start to kneel next by her and their sleeping child. She smiled lovingly at him and gave him a soft kiss against his cheek when he was close enough to her. Hiashi responded with a kiss atop her purple eggplanted hair and began to stroke his daughter's dark blue hair.

"How did it go with the council my sweet?" She asked him in a quiet voice. Her lavender-tinted eyes were weary but were sparkling with hope.

Hiashi looked into her eyes, his heart breaking for what he was about to tell her. "Not very well, my dear…" He said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his long hair.

After hearing his tone, Hitomi's face grew grim. "Wh-What did they want? What did they say?"

He looked at her, his face rigid and stony, she could clearly see the anger that began to foster in his pale eyes. "The Elders has deemed our daughter unfit to inherit the clan, so they plan on giving the seat of head to the next child that will be borne by us and brand Hinata with the **Caged** **Bird** **Seal**." Hiashi growled and his hands tightened into fists. "For some unknown reason, they seemed to know that we were secretly planning on having another child, though neither of us breathed a soul to anyone."

Hitomi's eyes widened in horror at the revelation. Hinata was going to demoted from her throne and be branded like an animal like the rest of their branch member relatives?! "This is absolutely outrageous!" Hitomi hissed in outrage. "Hinata is only four years old and they are already planning on marking her with that accursed seal?! The child we were planning on having is not even born yet, much less developing in my womb! How can those old fools demand such a thing?!"

Hiashi sympathized greatly with his wife. He asked that very same question to the council as well. "They say that Hinata is not suitable to be clan heir and should be replaced. They see Hinata's kind heart and gentle nature as weakness. Therefore, they decreed that our next child must be trained vigorously by them and be taught the proper ways of the Hyuuga and take the throne as its rightful heir. Since Hinata will not be heir, they say that they must find an arranged husband for her." He was unable to continue when his boiling wife cut him off.

"They cannot do that! Only _we_ can enact of seeking an arranged marriage for _our_ daughter." She whispered in an angered voice.

"I made sure to remind those retched elders," Hiashi said in a slightly frustrated tone as he looked away for a moment, "but they said that if we are unable to find a husband for her, then they will take charge and find one of their liking."

Hitomi's lips quivered as she stared down at her sleeping daughter. Hinata was wearing a simple white kimono, hugging a teddy bear her father had given to her for her third birthday. Her breathing was soft as she clutched onto her bear in an iron tight grip, and she had this constant blush that all young children seemed to have at an early age.

Hitomi felt silent tears roll down her cheeks and she hugged her only daughter (for right now) tightly against her chest. "They want to rob my child of her birthright and turn our unborn one into a mindless puppet under their rule. We cannot simply let them do that Hiashi. We just cannot."

Hiashi stared at his wife with a remorse expression before he wrapped his strong arms around her and their beloved daughter. "I know… And I will do everything in my power to stop the old fools from their wrongdoings. I won't rest until our happiness _is_ happy." He said as he gently stroked his daughter's pink cheek with a finger.

Just as he finished saying his promise, the two spouses were suddenly brought out by their stupor by a light rapping on the door. Hiashi instantly steeled himself and removed his arms away from his daughter and wife. "Enter." He commanded in an authoritative tone and the door slid open revealing a branch member guard sitting on his knees at the entrance of the door.

"My sincerest apologizes for interrupting you Hiashi-sama and Hitomi-sama." The guard apologized as he bowed humbly before them with his forehead touching gently against the ground. "But the Hokage has requested your audiences at once. He says that it is urgent."

Hiashi flinted his eyes over to his wife who had caught his gaze. Hiashi turned back to the guard with his face looking ever impassive. "Very well then. We shall leave at once." He replied coolly. "Prepare three escort guards for our departure."

"Hai!" The guard then lifted himself up from his bowed position, closed the door gently, and swiftly walked away to go rally up some more guards.

The clanhead and the matriarch had only one thing coursing through their minds as they looked at each other again.

Just what did the Hokage want with them soo late at night…?

…

Hiashi and Hitomi were walking with three branch member guards down the hallway of the second floor of the Hokage Tower. Hinata was not currently with them because they had placed a few guards around her room as she slept, just in case the elders did something funny. Among those guards was Ko Hyuuga, a caretaker of the young heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, Hinata Hyuuga. He had spiky down hair, which was very in the Hyuuga compound, and a well-defined nose with pale pupiless eyes. He was wearing the standard Leaf shinobi attire: a green flak jacket with black pants and blue sandals. But his hitai-ate was embedded in an all-black bandana that was tied securely around his forehead.

They Hyuuga entourage reached their desired destination and Hiashi was the one to knock softly against the door that had a white plaque that had black kanji letters that wrote: "Hokage" above the oak door.

"Enter." A raspy but authoritative voice called from behind the door. Hiashi and Hitomi looked at each other one finally time before the clanhead twisted the knob and softly pushed open the door. When they all walked inside, they all saw two men dressed in sleek armour standing on either side of the Hokage's desk and the shorter of the two was holding a small form in his eyes. When Hitomi squinted her eyes at the little figure she gasped.

"That's Naruto!" Hitomi called out before she narrowed her beautiful lavender-tinted eyes at the men. Veins instantly formed around her eyes and her balled her hands when suddenly glowing blue with chakra. "What are you doing with him?! Unhand that child immediately!"

"Oh, you're pretty feisty for a Hyuuga." The taller samurai replied as he took out his cigar from his mouth and smeared the bottom on the Hokage's desk, cancelling the smoking item from produce smoke. "But I have every reason to let my cohort hold this child, for you see, Naruto Uzumaki is a close family relative of mine."

Hitomi was thoroughly confused at the man's sudden declaration. Hiashi turned his attention to the old Hokage who was sighing and rubbing his temples to cool down his growing annoyance. "Hokage-sama," Hiashi began slowly, "what is this man implying?"

And that's when Hiruzen explained everything to the Hyuuga entourage with a heavy and slightly peeved voice. "And that is why you two are here before me." Hiruzen sighed.

"So whaddya say?" The man named Akihiko asked as he stared at the Hyuuga with an icy cold stare. "Do you agree to the terms or not?"

Hiashi stared into the eyes of the Battousai with an equally cold glare. But the clanhead's glare for some reason could not beat the strange man's one. It was like the ginger's steely gaze was laced with glaciers as cold as the frozen seas and his eyes held a disturbing emptiness that made Hiashi feel very uneasy around the man. But the Hyuuga was _extremely_ good of not showing his emotions.

All of a sudden, Hitomi started to gently pull on his robes which made the man forcefully break away his gaze from the red samurai. "Please give us one moment." Hiashi said before he and his wife excused themselves out of the door before reclosing it. "What is it Hitomi?"

"I think we should agree to it." She blurted out as soon as his questions uttered past his lips.

Hiashi's eyes widened before they stared at his beloved with a neutral yet confused gaze. He didn't scream absolutely not like he thought he would, but what with the Hyuuga council getting severely edgy and adamant on Hinata's case, he had no reason to argue with his wife. Their child's well-being was put on his top priority list as well as Hitomi's.

He didn't say anything but he nodded for his wife to continue. Hitomi smiled gratefully and let go of her husband's garbs. She hadn't let go ever since they walked outside of the door. "The Elders are getting restless and they are going to initiate their plans sooner than we anticipated." Hitomi explained. Her husband rubbed his chin before nodding in agreement. "We were previously talking about how to find a husband for her and the Uzumaki Clan will provide a safe enough home for her and she will be unreachable for the elders twisted and demented grasps. This will greatly help her and provide us with immense reassurance to know that she is in a safer place than the Hyuuga Compound… Do you not agree?"

Hiashi pondered the situation a bit longer before he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again. He was very over protective of Hinata, even though he never admitted it. And to suddenly arrange a marriage for her when she's only four years old…? It made him sad and a little annoyed.

_But this is for her safety… Her well-being… _He thought solemnly before he took his wife's hands and smiled at her with a weary smile. "Okay. We will do this. For Hinata." Hiashi said as he squeezed her hands for reassurance.

Hitomi smiled back, but her smile with filled with joy and relief. "For Hinata." She responded and gave his hands the squeezing reassurance they so desired. They both took in a deep breath before steeling their facial expressions against. And walked back inside the Hokage's office.

* * *

Akihiko was smiling as he released the chakra he had discretely applied to his ears. He had heard the whole conversation that commenced outside between the Hyuuga Clan's head and his wife. And he could honestly say, Hinata's condition was way _worse_ than he initially thought if that prick of a husband was worried _that_ much about his daughter.

_But it does keep things a bit more interesting on our end…_ The Battousai thought sinisterly while he looked to see Masayoshi have his eyes closed. The assassin's eyes snapped open and he looked at Akihiko and nodded. _Looks like the people in question are coming back… Good thing I have Masa for recon…_

The door creaked open and the couple came in and approached the Hokage's desk with calm, cool, and graceful steps. They stopped in front of the desk and Hiashi craned his neck to look at Akihiko. The man was grinning a slightly feral grin. "So… Do we have a deal with the illusive Hyuuga Clan?" Akihiko asked as he stuck out a hand towards Hiashi.

Hiashi looked at the red samurai's hand before looking at his wife. She gave him a soft smile and nodded slightly. The clanhead sighed before he took the man's outstretched hand with his own. "We have a deal." They both glared at each other before their hands shook once in conferment.

The Sandaime Hokage smiled happily at the two men. "Excellent," he said in a raspy voice, "now the two clans will have to sign a small packet of documented paper to verify its authenticity." Sarutobi took out a packet that had no more than three or four pages. He suddenly pointed to the blank spaces that were at the bottom of the paper. "Just sign your names in the designated areas and that will ultimately confirm the arrange marriage of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga."

Hiruzen gave the two men a feathered-quill and they both dipped it in the ink at the same time. Akihiko went to sign first because the Clan that was depleting and were the ones who requested to participate in the CRA, then they always signed first in Konoha's laws. Hiashi sighed next and it continued until they reached the last page which said: "The Requirements and Requests of the Two Clans from Each Other."

Akihiko raised a brow at the wording. "Hey gramps, what does this last page mean?" The Battousai asked rudely to the Fire Shadow of the Lad of Fire.

Before the shinobi could answer, Masayoshi beat him to the punch. "I believe that this page is explaining that the two clans write down what they expect to happen between each other. Like a trade of sorts." Hiruzen nodded at the white samurai's answer.

"I see…" Hiashi said slowly as he rubbed his chin. "Then shall I write the first rule, Akihiko-san?" Said man just waved dismissively because he had not thought of any rules yet. Hiashi began to write quickly, his letters tight and neat. His wife intervened to write some rules herself but after a few minutes, the clanhead was finally finished. He gently placed it on the Hokage's desk for all to see.

_Rule#1: The two clans will honor and treat each other with equal respect. No matter what statuses they uphold._

_Rule#2: No secrets shall be held from the clans. All personal secrets are understandable but _anything_ pertaining to clan affairs, it is shared to the other clan._

_Rule#3: No acts of violence shall be committed upon each clan. Their heirs also pertain to this rule. The hurting or maiming of the heirs will result in punishment by jail or execution._

_Rule#4: The married couple will treat each other with the upmost love and respect._

_Rule#5: Any inappropriate actions that are committed by the couple (preferably the groom) that should _not_ be committed until _later years_, the father or father-in-law, has the right to… _straighten out_ their heinous acts._

_Rule#6: These rules can be changed at any time, but _only_ by the_ main family_ of the married couple and they _all_ have to agree on the terms of the rule in order for them to verify it._

_Rule#7: The main family of the arranged couple will treat each other like a family and not formally. Awkwardness is suffocating and no one likes to go through it._

Akihiko grinned as he finished writing that last rule. The man absolutely hated it when people, like his family or his closest friends addressed him with formality. It made him sound old and he was downright uncomfortable with it. "There! Is that all of the rules for our clans, _Hiashi_?"

Said man sported on a slight smile at the samurai. Already was the man following his— the last rule of the two powerful clans. Truly this man did bear a striking resemblance in the blonde lad's attitude. Hiashi chuckled as he folded his arms. "It seems to be in order, _Akihiko_."

The man just smiled and gave Hiashi a friendly slap on the back. The clanhead nearly tipped forward and was slightly winded from the force of Akihiko's hit. "That's the spirit. Well, it's time we brought the little brat back to Whirlpool, it'll be quite some time before he comes back here." He snapped his fingers and Masayoshi instantly came by his side. The two started to walk out before they were stopped again.

"How long will it be until Naruto comes back to Konoha?"

Akihiko looked over his shoulder and looked into the eyes of Hiruzen who was displaying a huge amount of sadness of losing Naruto. The samurai sighed and turned fully around. "He'll come back when his twelve years old to be assigned as a Genin."

"That's quite a long time."

"Yes but it's all necessary. Naruto needs to get reacquainted with his homeland. During that time, he will also be training vigorously if he is going to inherit the throne as the Daimyo of Whirlpool."

"D-Daimyo of Whirlpool?!" Hitomi stammered out in shock in awe. Displaying the same shocked emotions of everyone else in the room.

"But he's only a child! Wh-What about you? Isn't the Daimyo your father?!" This shocked everyone even further. "Aren't you supposed to inherit the throne before Naruto does?!"

Akihiko grinned before he waved a single finger. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. So nosy." He mocked. "The thing is, _I don't want that position._ It's too much work. Naruto can have it."

"Don't you think you're being a bit selfish Akihiko-san?" Hiruzen asked.

Akihiko looked up at the ceiling and scratched the back of his red head as if contemplating about something. "Hmm. Maybe. But it's for me to know, and you not to find out." The tall man suddenly turned towards the Hyuugas with a lazy stare before he smiled at them. "Hinata-chan can visit Naruto after a few years. So about… When they turn eight years old? Yeah, that'll give 'em plenty of time to train before we drop the bomb on them. Don't you think?"

Hiashi and Hitomi started to sweat nervously at the use of Akihiko's… brash words before they exchanged worried glances. They looked back at the Battousai and nodded hesitantly towards him.

"Great! So see you guys in four years then! We'll send you a messenger bird when it's time. 'Till then." He gave them a two-fingered salute before he, Masayoshi, and Naruto started to suddenly shimmer before they completely vanished into thin air.

The Hyuugas and the Sandaime Hokage all looked at each other and exchanged looks. It looks like these next four years were going to go very differenty from what they had originally thought.

Hiruzen sighed before he took off his Hokage's Hat and ran an aged hand through his grey hair. "It looks like I will be calling the council earlier than I expected…" He grumbled.

* * *

_Next Time on The Lost Clan of Whirlpool: Going Back Home…_

* * *

**YATTA! I'm finally finished with the 1****st**** chapter of my new story guys! To those who said to work on **_Changes for the Better_** 1****st****, srry it's just that this story was calling out to me to make it first…. Ahhh…. But guys don't worry! I plan on doing the next chapter of **_Changes for the Better_** so don't worry your pretty little heads! ^/^**

**Okay dudes and dudettes, if you have sneezed through this new story then GOD BLESS YOUR FACE AND YOUR NOSE HOLES! 'Till then, Ja ne!**

**Hitai-ate [1]: **AForehead Protector that shinobi where to signify which Hidden Village they belong to.

**Kunoichi [2]: **A Japanese word that means female ninja.

**Shinigami [3]: **The God of Death.

**Hitokiri [4]: **Skilled Assassin.

**Caged Bird Seal [5]: **Akihiko was explaining that the Uzumaki Clan were the ones who created the Caged Bird Seal and he was brashly stating how horrid for his ancestors to create such a thing.


	2. Going Back Home

**Going Back Home…**

…

_Thinking/ Indention/ Flashbacks/ Fantasies_

**Kyuubi talking to Naruto in mindscape/ Naming a jutsu/ bold indention**

_**Kyuubi talking telepathically to Naruto/ Calling out a jutsu/ Bold words**_

…

* * *

"Order! Order! There shall be order in this council meeting!" The Sandaime Hokage bellowed, silencing the rapidly escalating murmurs and shouts that were coming from the council room. Hiruzen Sarutobi had called the civilian and shinobi council to call to a situation that has occurred this night.

The return of the Uzumaki Clan.

The council settled down but the old Sarutobi could still hear the murmurings and grumblings from specifically the civilian council members. The members of the shinobi council were all quiet but exchanged astonished and nervous looks with each other.

The Hokage cleared his throat before speaking once again. "I know that this predicament does seem very illogical and quiet unbelievable, but what I state is the truth—!"

A civilian suddenly slammed his hands on the desk and stood up. "From what has been described to us, the Uzumaki Clan has been completely exterminated since the Second Great Ninja War! How can you be so sure that they are really revived?!"

The Sandaime fixed the foolish civilian council member a death glare, immediately silencing him. Apparently, this fool forgot his place, and would probably need… _reconditioning_ later…

Before the old man could give his reply, he was beaten to the punch. "He knows that the Uzumaki Clan is revived because he has seen two members of the Whirlpool Nation and one of them was a member of the Uzumaki Clan. As have I." A very calm and authority-wielding voice stated. Everyone turned their heads to look at Hiashi Hyuuga, the clanhead of the prestigious Hyuuga Clan with two of the Hyuuga Elders sitting right beside him.

Hiruzen smiled at the man and nodded at him. "Yes, Hiashi-san is very correct indeed. Would you please come down to the front? I am pretty sure you and I both have some explaining to do this night." He said as he started to wave the man down.

"Of course Hokage-sama." Hiashi said as he gave him a curt nod before standing up and gracefully walking down the stairs that led up into the councils' desks and chairs. Hiashi then turned to look up into the throngs of people, shinobi and citizens, with his arms folded and his eyes icy and cold. "The son of the Daimyo of the Whirlpool Nation has visited us."

That lone sentence started up roars and shouts of disbelief and indignation. The volume escalated and the room was buzzing with activity and adrenaline, something that hasn't happened for years. Even the shinobi side of the council, who were usually more composed than the citizens, had very loud murmurings of their own. Hiruzen started to bang a gavel hard against his desk. The room's buzz went down to a minimum, but there were still traces of it here and there.

"Anyway," Hiruzen said moving on, "the son's name is Akihiko Uzumaki." Loud whispers started to make their way known and the shinobi council started to fear what the Hokage would say next. They severely hoped that they were wrong, but fate had them all webbed up in its thread of dread.

Funny how it can be a real bitch huh?

Hiruzen took in a deep breath ask he slowly said the next part. "And he is Naruto Uzumaki's uncle." After the Hokage finished the one part the council room exploded into angry shouts and demanding screams… well… it was only the civilian side of course.

"Absurd!" One civilian council member shouted. "You expect us to believe that _that thing _is the nephew of the son of the Daimyo of Whirlpool?! That demon brat is an orphan boy with no family, how can he be royalty?!" The civilians all agreed with the man who spoke up, sharing their own nods and shouts.

"_Silence!_" Hiruzen hissed as he released an impossible amount of killer intent into the room. Everyone immediately quieted and were struggling for breath against the Hokage's unbridled rage; never before had they seen, much less heard of the Sandaime become this angry. They thought that he was very peace loving and they assumed he forgot his shinobi ways. Truly, they were wrong as they witnessed first-hand of his power that he kept hidden away for some many years. They had forgotten that they were dealing with the Third Hokage, the Fire Shadow, and most importantly, The Professor.

Hiashi was miraculously still standing as the Hokage continued to unload his hidden rage. But many could see that the powerful Hyuuga's face had contorted into a semi look of pain and his body was slightly trembling. Inwardly, the clanhead was screaming for it to stop with the killer intent clawing away at his insides. It felt as if he was dumped into a pit of molten lava, his bones melting and his innards searing away into a fiery inferno.

Hiruzen took in a deep breath and calmed himself. His killer intent immediately receded and the air was still and cool again, much to the relief of the council. Suddenly, everyone heard three thumps echo throughout the room and looked to see three members of the civilian council lying unconscious in their seats.

Hiruzen sighed before he snapped his fingers. Two Konoha ANBU Black Opp members instantly appeared before the Hokage bowing humbly to him on one knee with a fist planted firmly against the ground. "How may we be of service to you Hokage-sama?" The two asked simultaneously to their leader.

Hiruzen regarded them with a respectful nod. "Three council members have been rendered unconscious. Please escort them to the hospital so that I may later speak with them."

"Hai Hokage-sama." They quickly disappeared along with the three unconscious bodies into thin air. Many would never get how they could be able to take away things without touching them. It was very mysterious indeed.

Sarutobi looked back towards the civilian council with a cold stare. They all went nervous and quiet in a matter of seconds. Many could not meet the Hokage's icy stare, but those who did were sweating bullets as they assumed that the Third was punching holes through them with a mere look. "Tell me, are there any _more interruptions_ that will be made? Because if so, then please share it with me."

Nobody spoke.

Hiruzen was smirking inwardly but he settled for a sickly sweet smile that did not seem normal as it further scared the council. "No? Good. Now let us continue on with the meeting. Would you care to explain a little bit more about our situation Hiashi-san?" The old veteran asked as he fixed his softened gaze towards the Hyuuga Clan Head.

Hiashi nodded at the Hokage before he readdressed the crowd. "As you probably know, the Whirlpool Nation only harbors the protection of samurai's and not shinobi. They believe having shinobi among their ranks is unethical and non-traditional because they believe that having ninja will make them look weak because of how heavy we shinobi rely on our jutsus." This time, the shinobi part of the council started to murmur their own thoughts. Though they weren't as nearly as loud as the civilian portion. At least they had some brains.

"Be that is it may," the stark man continued, silencing the grumblings of his shinobi cohorts, "they are still powerful enough to take down numerous of shinobi armies with only a small platoon of two-thousand samurai." The ninja council members all begrudgingly nodded their heads in agreement to Hiashi's statement. Many of them had encountered samurai of Whirlpool and every time they seemed to trump them without any form of ninjutsu or genjutsu. They solely relied on _kenjutsu_ [1] or if they were forced to, taijutsu. And every time, it left many Konoha shinobi licking their wounds in defeat and unimaginable humiliation of their lost against such a small army of samurai.

Before Hiashi could continue his explanation, one of the members of the civilian council interrupted him. "What does it matter the reason? They are just lowly samurai; _our_ ninja should have no problem dealing with them."

Every clanhead, as well as many of the older members of the civilian council, stared at the man while asking themselves if he was really that stupid. By the look on the fool's face he obviously was. Finally it was Inoichi Yamanaka, Head of the Yamanaka Clan that answered the idiot's stupid question.

Inoichi had long dirty blond hair that reached down his back, which was spiky on top and ended in a long ponytail. He also had blue-green eyes and strong facial features which included a well-defined jawline. He wore the standard flak jacket over a black outfit, complete with hand-guards, a forehead protector, and a sleeveless red haori.

"The reason may not matter to you, fool, but it matters greatly to those of us who have actually fought them and go out of the village walls to protect you from enemy and die for you!" Inoichi said angrily as he narrowed his eyes at the civilian idiot.

"And the reason we don't send our ninja after them is because we don't have enough manpower to face them in open battle. They would outnumber us and overpower us as well." A lazy and bored voice said, adding his two cents in. It was Shikaku Nara, the Head of the Nara Clan and good friend and former teammate of Inoichi Yamanaka. Shikaku had two scars on the right side of his face which were probably his only most noticeable feature. He had dark hair tied up into a spiky ponytail, dark eyes, as well as a goatee with his ears pierced with silver-looped earrings. He wore a meshed shirt underneath his flak jacket, a deer skin coat over that, black pants, and hand guards. He had his elbow propped up on the table as he held his head in his hand. He was getting thoroughly annoyed with the stupidity the civilian council was displaying, so he chose to show is irritation by tapping his finger rapidly on his desk.

"But they're just samurai! You're ninja; surely you can defeat them with some or your jutsu or something?" The same fool questioned.

Hiruzen frankly had enough of this idiot whose name seemed to escape him at the moment. "No we cannot. These samurai are no ordinary samurai we are dealing with; they are not the sword wielding ruffians that supposedly call themselves _samurai_ here. This is The Central Guardians we are dealing with. They are the elite samurai guild of Whirlpool and are not to be underestimated or trifled with." Said the Third.

Several younger civilian members still looked to be confused so Shibi Aburame, the Head of the Aburame Clan, decided to clarify further. Just like any other member of the Aburame Clan, Shibi was very stoic and silent. He, and majority of the members of the Aburame Clan, was very cautious by nature and also believed in never underestimating your opponent no matter how small or weak they may appear.

Shibi, like all members of his clan, had his eyes obscured by dark glasses which featured a single tassel hanging down from one-side. He had very spiky short black hair and a thin moustache. He wore a high collared outfit with a long-sleeved black undershirt, and black pants while carrying a gourd on his back that he used for holding more _kikaichū_ [2].

"The Central Guardians," he began smoothly, shocking many that the man could actually speak, "is specially trained to combat against shinobi. They have armor that prevents us from using most ninjutsu or genjutsu to retaliate against them. With samurai specializing in close-combat, it is not logical to engage them in battle unprepared, with only taijutsu."

With the civilian idiots quieted, Hiashi Hyuuga continued. "The Battousai is the leader of these elite group of samurai." As Sarutobi and Hiashi expected, this news made the blood drain from the face of every ninja in the room, for they all knew how powerful the man was. "And according to the reports the Hokage and myself have went over, Akihiko _is_ the Battousai." This made the shinobi of the room cringe in fear and they quickly started to murmur amongst themselves. Others apparently did not know why the shinobi suddenly became antsy, hence the next stupid question from a blonde haired woman.

Civilian council member Mebuki Haruno didn't know what the Hyuuga head was talking about or why it seemed that this Akihiko person was such a big deal besides the fact he was the son of the Daimyo of Whirlpool. Mebuki was a fair-skinned woman with shoulder-length, blonde hair with a single bang that fell down into her face. She had green eyes and wore a white qipao dress with three red circular designs at the bottom of the front of her dress as well as the back. Underneath the dress, she wore a pink ¾-length pants along with brown sandals instead of the common and standard blue sandals.

"What does it matter that Akihiko Uzumaki is the Battousai? What is a Battousai anyway? I've never heard of him. And what does it matter that he's leading this Central Guardians or whatever? I'm pretty sure that someone like Hokage-sama or Uchiha-sama can take care of him." She said looking at both men with a clueless smile on her face. Fugaku Uchiha, the Head of the Uchiha Clan and sole leader of the Konoha Military Police Force just ignored the useless woman.

Fugaku had short, black hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-coloured eyes, with visible creases seen below them that made them even more pronounced whenever he adopted a stern look; which was mostly all of the time. He wore a simple green kimono with grey pants which had his clan's insignia marked on the back. Fugaku was a very serious and prominent man. He was very egotistical whenever his clan came into play of any conversation, just like the rest of his stuck up— I mean, clan members. He also had a short temper which was slowly being shown as the meeting progressed.

Fugaku never liked admitting things, but this time he was between a rock and a hard place. The Uchiha were the most powerful clan in Konohagakure, along with the Hyuuga. Their clan was feared and admired far and wide and they lived up to their reputation whenever they were deployed on missions or wars. And they always returned victorious. But, many Uchiha have fought the Uzumaki Clan before and for some reason they always seemed to… _lose_… The humiliation of losing despite their victories and reputation, made the Uchiha Clan constantly challenge the Uzumaki when they were comrades' way back. Every single time, they lost.

Then the news came over when one day the Uchiha Clan asked them of how they gained so much power, so they could be able to obtain it for themselves. The Uzumaki Clan merely told them that they were the direct descendants of the _Rikudō Sennin, _or _the Sage of the Six Paths_ [3] and inherited the bloodline of longevity, regeneration, and sealing arts from the Father of Shinobi. Even though the Uchiha Clan was also a descendant of the Rikudō Sennin, they knew that they could never beat the Uzumaki. That thought made Fugaku fume as an old wound started to open up on his ego.

Meanwhile, the Hokage was just shaking his head in disbelief at Mebuki's stupidity. Hiruzen again questioned the Second Hokage's action of creating the civilian council. He had been doing that numerous of times over the years.

"I am afraid that is not the case, Haruno-san." The Sandaime said as he started to rub his temple to cool his ever-growing annoyance. "I am an old man, and to be completely honest with myself, I doubt that even if I was in my prime, I would be no match for even _one_ of the members of the _Roku Kyoshi_ [4]."

"Roku Kyoshi?" asked one of the civilians.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, the Six Great Masters. They are a group of samurai that are recognized as the masters of their respective fields. They each wear a coat of the masters as proof of their power."

"What do you mean by that Lord Hokage?" asked another civilian.

Hiruzen sighed before he slid open a cabinet to his desk and pulled out his smoking pipe. He set it a light with a mini fire jutsu before he put the pipe in his mouth and proceeded forward. "There are six coats that are said to have been made by the Sage of Six Paths himself. He presented these coats to his original six disciples and each one of them specialized in one of the six great ninja arts; Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Senjutsu, and Fuuinjutsu. Since the creation of the ninja arts, these coats have been passed down from master to master. There are only two ways for the coat and the title of master to be passed down; either by the current master of a field will willingly pass down the title… or by someone stronger killing the current master and claiming the coat by force."

The seriousness of the situation finally settled through the thick skulls of most of the civilians in the room. And many of them were scared, along with the shinobi council as well.

"Wh-What do the Uzumaki Clan wish of us?" A civilian council member asked quite nervously.

The Hokage blew out a ring of smoke from his pipe before he answered. "They wish to reestablish their friendship with us." This greatly relaxed many of the council but some couldn't help but feel that there was a catch to all of this.

They were right to think so.

"But," Hiruzen said sharply, instantly thwarting the council's moment of relaxation, "they wish to enact a Clan Restoration Act with a single clan of Konohagakure."

This caused the council to once again explode into a frenzy of murmurings. The shinobi clans did not like how this meeting had gone from bad to take a turn for the worse. The CRA had been banished since the Second Great Ninja War, because of how Konoha's clans were not gaining any profit or benefit of the arranged marriages whatsoever. So they steadily complied to the Nidaime, stating that they would leave the Hidden Leaf Village unless he got rid of the CRA. So he did.

But despite of what happened in the past, they told themselves that this was the alleged _Uzumaki Clan._ And many took this into consideration and wondered who their heirs would be paired off to. As if the Third could read their minds, he suddenly spoke with a loud and clear voice. "Although Akihiko was the original heir to take the throne of Daimyo from his father, he has quite brazenly stated to us and most likely his father that he would not become the next Daimyo of Whirlpool." Hiruzen then smiled fondly with his old eyes glinting mischievously. "So he has passed on the title of Daimyo onto his nephew, Naruto."

Silence filled the council room impossibly fast. Surprisingly, no one had anything to say even though the civilian council despised the young blonde boy. The reason being was because the civilian council was thoroughly conflicted. Some were soo angry that they hadn't anything to say. Some felt guilty, ashamed, and confused all in one as they had treated the boy that was seemingly now the most important child of Konoha. Heck, he could even be the most important child of _the elemental nations!_

The shinobi side of the council felt an unimaginable wave of guilt coursing through their bodies. They weren't mean towards the whiskered child like the villagers were, because they all knew that the boy was the Kyuubi no Yoko's jailer and _not_ the demon itself. But they did not do anything for the boy when he needed their help in his times of need. That thought alone caused guilt to pierce their hearts.

A woman stood up from her seat on the shinobi portion of the council. Her name was Tsume Inuzuka, the Head of the Inuzuka Clan. Tsume had an animalistic look, as did all of her clan members— for they were a fierce tracker and hunter ninja clan that worked with inbred ninja hounds. She had long, spiky, untamed brown hair, vertical slit-like pupils, and elongated canine teeth and nails. She also had her clan's fang markings on her cheeks as well as markings over her eyes and a dark shade of purple lipstick. She wore the standard outfit of a Konoha shinobi which consisted of a green flak jacket and a black suit underneath with her sleeves rolled up and bandages wrapped around each of her legs. Strangely enough though, Tsume didn't seem to wear the village's forehead protector.

Tsume was a very tough woman, and she often scolded her clan members when things were not up to par. She mostly scolded her youngest child, Kiba Inuzuka, for his actions like not taking his training seriously enough. But she was also a very reasonable and a kind hearted shinobi.

She wouldn't say that she didn't like Naruto Uzumaki; she actually did like the little troublemaker. He brought out the good and worst sides of her son that other kids just didn't seem to. She would always see them play together whenever she brought Kiba to the park, and would grin at the little rivalry that had somehow sparked between the two. Naruto was very tolerable in her eyes, minus the obnoxious pranks he pulled from time to time, and she would sometimes invite the young boy to have dinner with her and her son. She was very satisfied that no one in her clan objected to her decisions, for they also did not see any reason to hate the boy. He was just the _jailer_ of a powerful demon and that was all.

Tsume folded her arms before she spoke in a loud and clear voice. "The Inuzuka Clan wishes to initiate the Clan Restoration Act with the Uzumaki Clan. I will volunteer my eldest daughter, Hana Inuzuka, to marry the young pup Naruto Uzumaki." Everyone looked at the woman as if she had suddenly sprouted two heads. The Hokage knew that he would have to decline her request but he was curious as to why the clanhead wanted to marry off Naruto with her eldest and only daughter.

"Tsume-san, I wish to know why you would enlist Hana as a candidate to be-wed Naruto." Sarutobi asked curiously as he linked his hands together and placed them gently on his desk.

"It's simple really," Tsume said causally, "I like the kid." Everyone continued to stare at her in shock and she sighed as she began to clarify it for them. "The Inuzuka Clan holds no bad relation towards the little brat. Sure, we lost some of our kin to the Kyuubi but that's just it. We lost our loved ones to the _Kyuubi_ and not _Naruto Uzumaki_. I don't think a little squirt like him is capable enough to kill hundreds of _fully trained shinobi_."

The Sandaime smiled at the woman's declaration. It filled his heart with much joy that there were at least some people who thought of Naruto as Naruto instead of that retched Nine-Tailed Fox. Although he didn't want to squander her decision, he knew he had to. Hiruzen was about to deny her request but another voice interrupted him.

It was Inoichi Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan. "Now Tsume, I know we have been friends and comrades-in-arms for quite a while but don't you think that Hana is a little _too old_ for Naruto?"

Tsume snapped her head to look at her cohort who flinched under her feral gaze. "What are you trying to say, Inoichi?" She growled angrily.

Inoichi held up his hands in surrender as he tried to calm down his friend. "Now, Now, Tsume. I am only stating that your daughter is too old to marry a young child such as Naruto. Hana is _fourteen_ while Naruto is only _four_ for Kami's sake!" He then folded his arms as nervous sweat began to build on his brow. "I just thought that Naruto needed to be married to a girl around his age. My daughter is only a month older than Naruto so I figured that she would be a much better candidate to marry the young lad."

"What?!" Tsume screamed as she slammed her hands on her desk. "Are you saying that my daughter is _insufficient_ to marry the pup than yours?! Are you saying that you think that your daughter would be a much better wife than mine?!"

"No! No!" Inoichi shouted as he quickly waved his hands franticly. "That's not what I meant at all! I was talking about how my daughter would be better _age_ wise!" But the tracker-nin seemed to ignore the blonde haired man's pleas and started to advance towards him as she pulled up her sleeves. Already were Shikaku and Shibi standing to hold back the woman from pummeling the blonde into oblivion.

As this squabbling was going on, Mebuki Haruno was grinning mischievously at the turn of events. She thought that if she could marry her daughter Sakura Haruno to the boy, then their family would be the richest civilian family alive. She would gain unimaginable fortune and would receive anything she desired. Unbeknownst to her, many of the civilian families were also thinking the same thing and argued of whose daughter would marry the soon-to-be Whirlpool Daimyo.

Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his temples in annoyance. This meeting was getting far too noisy for his liking. First they hated Naruto, now they were suddenly eager to invite the boy into their families like he was the most important person in the world. It disgusted the Hokage to no end of how quickly people's minds seemed to change when wealth and fame were brought into play. He assumed that the shinobi council had a good explanation for their participation, but the civilian side was just despicable.

The Professor looked over to the Head of the Hyuuga Clan who just sent him an amused smile. It surprised him at first, for he has never seen the man smile in his presence despite earlier tonight, but he was brought out of it when Hiashi gestured his head towards the raging council. Yes, they still had more work to be done.

Hiruzen blew out a cloud of smoke before he cleared his throat loudly to get the council's attention. Everyone quieted down and looked towards the elderly man, immediately stopping what they were doing.

"I am afraid I will have to decline everyone's offer of arranged marriage." The council began to murmur amongst themselves confused and angry at the Hokage's declaration. "The reason being is because the CRA with the Uzumaki Clan has already been verified." The council's grumblings grew loudly and more pronounced when small shouts entered the fray.

Shikaku, surprisingly, was the first one to speak up to news. "I know that this is going to be troublesome but, who, pretell, is participating in the CRA with the Uzumaki Clan?"

Hiruzen was about to speak but Hiashi interrupted him with a formal bow. "Hokage-sama, may I?" He asked, Sarutobi just smiled and waved his hand for the man to continue on. Hiashi nodded and once again addressed the crowd of nobles. "The Uzumaki Clan has enacted the Clan Restoration Act with the Hyuuga Clan because of… _special relations_, so to speak." The stern man said as he folded his arms over his chest.

This caused both sides to erupt into shouts and screams of disapproval. Tsume broke out of Shikaku and Shibi's grasp and let go of Inoichi's collar and pointed an accusing finger at the prominent man. "What?! What is this special relationship do the Hyuuga have with the Uzumaki?!"

Hiashi just smirked, shocking many of the man's sudden display of emotion. "It's simple, my wife was a good friend of Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother." Many gasped at the sudden revelation of the boy's parents. Many, no, _all_ of the villagers of the Village Hidden in the Leaves knew of Kushina Uzumaki's name. How can they not? She was the great troublemaker Konoha had before Naruto became known to the world. She was called the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, and whenever people got on her bad side… well… let's just say that _none_ was spared from her wrath…

"It's quite simple really," Hiashi said as his pale eyes were focused intently on the brash Inuzuka woman, "Kushina Uzumaki was the daughter of the Daimyo of Whirlpool, and she and my wife knew each other very well actually. They were the best of friends, along with Fugaku-san's wife, Mikoto Uchiha. And since I have a daughter that is around Naruto's age, and since the Uzumaki Clan knows of how close my wife was with Kushina-san, it gives the Hyuuga Clan a special connection with them. That was why the Uzumaki were soo eager to accept our request to arrange a marriage of my daughter with the Daimyo's grandson."

"If that's true then, why didn't Fugaku-sama volunteer to participate with the Uzumaki Clan?" A civilian member asked.

Fugaku just linked his fingers together as he stared down at Hiashi with a frosty glare. The man caught it and sent it with one of his own. The two were once good friends along with the Fourth Hokage, or, Minato Namikaze. But ever since the three had been called to become the head of their clans or becoming Hokage, they haven't been able to reconnect like they once did. And when Minato died, it somehow served the bond between Fugaku and Hiashi, making them see each other as mortal enemies. Although, their wives are still best friends unlike the two powerful men were.

"Because, I have two sons. And one is many years ahead of young Naruto." Fugaku answered coldly.

"Indeed." Hiashi said before he sent one final glare at the Uchiha Head before returning his gaze back to the council members. "I have legal documentation stating that this marriage is final. Hokage-sama, if you would please?" The pale-eyed man asked politely as he looked back at his leader. Hiruzen nodded before his hands quickly flashed through seals and a huge stack of papers suddenly materialized right in front of him.

The Hokage snapped his fingers and three ANBU members appeared in front of his desk. "Please pass this out to everyone in the council." The three nodded once before they each separated the papers and in a flash they were evenly distributed among the council. Sarutobi smiled gratefully at the three and gave them a nod. "Thank you very much for your help. You are all dismissed for the night."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" They said before the disappeared in a flicker.

The council looked through the paper and many were frustrated at the turn of events. The papers were in fact authentic because of the Hokage's seal stamped on each paper. And those that knew of Hiashi's handwriting, could clearly see that the penmanship was in fact real and not a counterfeit.

Hiashi looked up triumphantly as he saw the Hyuuga Elders that were accompanying him look very angered and flustered. They now knew that their plans that they had in store for Hinata had immediately flown out of the window and they could do nothing about it because of the rules clearly stated on the packet, and for the fear of invoking the wrath of the Uzumaki Clan if they continue their diabolical ways.

Hiruzen smiled as he watched the council looked baffled at the newest situation that was presented in front of them. He cleared his throat, further silencing the council's mumblings. "Now then, are there any objections for what has been brought forth to us?" The council members looked at each other, but didn't say anything. Sarutobi grinned. "Very well then. I call this meeting, adjourned." And with that, the Sandaime banged his gavel for the final time that night, dismissing the meeting of Konoha's council.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki started to slowly open his eyes as he awakened from his slumber. One minute he was dreaming about slurping down the biggest ramen bowl in the world, the next, he was being woken up by a lot of swaying and swishing. He sat up slowly and started to rub his eyes. Where the heck was he? The orphanage didn't sway, at least, that's what he thought he knew. His vision slowly started to refocus as he took in his surroundings.

He was in a room, a big room. It was dimly lit and had wooden floors and walls with a lot of fancy things in it. There was a giant wardrobe to his left next by a large bookshelf filled to the brim with books and scrolls. He looked down and saw that he was in a large king-size bed with a white bed covering that was beautifully designed with vines that spiraled and twisted on the cover to add to its affect. Naruto gently thumbed the fabric and his eyes widened. It was silk, that kind of stuff that lots of rich people wore.

"So, I see that you're finally awake." A voice suddenly said, causing Naruto to snap his head in its direction. "Mornin' squirt, how're ya feeling?" It was a man that was sitting in a corner of the room with red, semi-spiky hair that had two long bangs that stopped a little ways from his jaw. He was wearing a red forehead protector that Naruto had seen Konoha's shinobi wear. But the symbol had a swirling maelstrom instead of a leaf. He wore a white T-shirt and baggy black pants with blue sandals. Naruto noticed that the man seemed very strong by his well-built body that rippled under his T-shirt as he read a very large book.

Even though the blonde lad was slightly put off by the mysterious man's appearance, his curiosity weighed a little bit higher than his fear. "Who the hell are you? And where am I?" Naruto asked quite rudely.

This only made the man laugh heartily, making the young boy become even more confused, but was silenced when the guy stood up and made his way over to him. Naruto was squirming away as much as he could, but he couldn't get far because his back hit against the wall and his body was still sore from the mob of villagers that beat him up a few days ago.

"Don't worry kid," The man said reassuringly as he pulled up a stool that was just on the other side of the lamp that was softly lighting up the room and sat next by the bed, "I'm not gonna hurt you." This greatly calmed Naruto and he slowly began to relax his sore body.

"Anyway, my name's Akihiko Uzumaki, and as for where you are right now, you're on a boat." The man named Akihiko stated with a large grin on his face.

"Eh?!" Naruto screamed in shock before he suddenly jumped up to his feet on the bed and pointed an accusing finger at the man. "But Uzumaki is my last name! Why're you stealing my name huh?!"

Akihiko just laughed at his nephew's obliviousness as he held his stomache in pain of how hard he was laughing. "N-No doubt about it," The ginger said with his laughter subsiding a bit, "you are just like your mother in more ways than one! Hahaha!"

Naruto's eyes instantly brightened. "My mother? You know who my mom is?! Can you tell me please?!" He asked in an almost frantic voice. Naruto had never known anything about his parents. To an orphan boy like himself, knowing who your parents were was the most precious information you could ever dream of having. And now this man, this Akihiko guy, knew who his mother was. He just had to know, he just had to!

"Know her? Of course I do! She was my sister after all!" Akihiko smiled and folded his arms proudly.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock while his mouth went agape. He pointed a shaky finger at Akihiko who was still smiling at him. "M-My mom was your s-sister…? S-So that means…"

The Battousai nodded before his smile turned warm and gentle. He stood up towering over the youngest Uzumaki and placed a large hand on Naruto's wild blonde hair. "Yep. I'm your uncle, Naruto. And I've been waiting to meet you for a very long time now."

Said boy stared up into his uncle's eyes. He could not believe it. He had an ACTUAL relative standing right there and front of him and he was the brother of his mother. The thought of having a family member after four long years of solitude made the blonde develop tears in his eyes before the spilled over his tanned, whiskered cheeks. He embraced Akihiko and clung onto him like he was his lifeline before he cried his heart out. Akihiko frowned as he tried to hold his tears back before his held his nephew in a tight grip, never wanting to let him go.

The room was filled with Naruto muffled cries of happiness. The ginger head man picked up the boy and started to walk out of the room with the lad held tightly in his arms. "C'mon Naruto," Akihiko said in a strangled voice. His tears had finally created small rivers over his cheeks but he was trying his hardest to not cry along with his nephew. "You've still got two more family members to meet."

After a few minutes or so, Naruto calmed down enough to speak. "R-Really…? Wh-Who are they…?" He choked out.

Akihiko smiled down at the boy and hugged him tighter. "Two old geezers who love you very much. That's who." And the two reunited Uzumaki's walked down the dimly light corridors in comfortable silence.

…

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he was carried into the dining room. The walls were painted with a beautiful evening color and it complemented the rising sun that could be seen through the large window that was on a side of the dining room. There were large orange banners that hung on the walls, displaying a large blue maelstrom symbol in the center of each banner. There was a long wooden dining table in the middle of the room that was blanketed with a white covering that was designed beautifully with pure silk. And to complete the table were red pillows around the table that signified reserved sitting areas for special people.

Naruto's eyes wandered the room, completely awestruck by its beauty. He then saw servants that were running in and out of double doors that seemed to be where the kitchen lay, as they frantically set the tables. And to his growing surprise, some of them waved at him with friendly smiles as they passed by.

Akihiko suddenly lowered Naruto to stand on his own two feet and it caused Naruto to stare at him in fear like the man was going to leave him. His fears were put to rest when the ginger bent down on one knee and ruffled his spiky blonde head with a hand. "Don't worry squirt, I'm not planning to leave ya for a second." He grinned before he stood up and took one of Naruto's small hands into his big ones to reassure the frightened boy. The Battousai then led them towards the dining table and they sat on a pillow that was on the left side of the dining table.

The blonde Uzumaki saw his uncle flag down some servants and started to whisper something to him. He figured that it was probably grown-up talk and a kid like him shouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation. So he started to focus on other things that he might have missed inside the dining room. He occasionally saw the pristine whiteness of the kitchen and a really chubby man dressed in white with a big hat yell at some of the servants if they did something wrong. He yelled at them a lot.

But Naruto's cerulean eyes suddenly stopped when he saw two men standing by the door that he and his uncle previously came through. They stood big and tall dressed in strange black armour with the same red hitai-ate Akihiko was wearing. Naruto's eyes fell on their swords that were strapped to their waists. He was slightly put off by them and clutched onto his uncle's arm from comfort. But he calmed down a bit when the two men gave him a friendly smile and a nod when they caught him looking at him. This caused the boy to tilt his head in confusion.

"Those are samurai, Naruto." Said boy turned around to see his uncle Akihiko smiling at him warmly.

"Samurai?"

The man nodded. "Yep. They are special people who perfect the art of kenjutsu, or sword fighting." Akihiko looked up at the ceiling as his violet eyes adorned a faraway look. "They never need to use jutsu because they can be able to take down their enemies far swiftly than without them. Isn't that cool?"

Naruto's eyes lit up like it was Christmas and his lips stretched into a large grin. "Super cool! Ne, Ne, Uncle Akihiko, do you think I'd make a good samurai?!" He asked excitedly.

Akihiko grinned at his nephew before he wrapped the boy into a headlock and started to give him playful noogies. "You bet! And I'm sure you're gonna be great someday! Dattebaru!"

Naruto blinked in surprise before he grinned also. "Dattebaru? Yours is just like mine! Dattebayo!"

Akihiko's grin grew tenfold and his noogies grew rougher on the blonde's skull. "Eh? So you're copyin' me huh?" The ginger asked mischievously.

"Huh?! No way, _you're_ copying _me_!" Naruto pouted angrily as he tried to get out of his uncle's strong grasp. The two struggled and wrestled with each other, becoming frustrated with each other until someone whistled making them stop in mid fight. Naruto was biting Akihiko's left hand while the man was pulling the boy's right ear as he still held the boy in a headlock.

"I wake up from a peaceful nap and what do I find? My son wrestling with my grandson who hasn't even recovered from those horrid wounds that is marred over his young body!" A grouchy yet feminine voice shouted. Both males turned their heads towards the entryway of the dining room to see an elderly woman with her hands placed on her hips as she looked at them with a stern expression on her face.

She had short, red semi-spiky hair which stopped at her neck. She had sharp, violet eyes and slightly visible creases at the corners of her eyes and her mouth. She wore a purple kimono-like dress that was worn under a white haori, and black sandals. Her stern look suddenly turned into a glare making Naruto and Akihiko flinch in fear before they quickly untangled themselves from each other and sat on their knees with their hands in their laps.

The two found the wooden floors interesting as they sweated substantially. "Sorry…" They both mumbled in unison as they squirmed in their seats uncomfortably.

The elderly woman sighed before she rubbed her temples. "Honestly, I expect this from Naruto since he is just a child, but you Akihiko? You're a grown man for Kami's sake!"

Naruto fidgeted some more in his seat before he built up the courage to look up into the old woman's fiery eyes. "U-Umm, excuse me but who are you?" In a flash, Naruto suddenly found himself in the iron-tight grip of this woman who was nuzzling his golden blonde mane of hair as she squeezed him tighter in her death grip.

"Aww! Aren't you the cutie? My name's Harumi Uzumaki and I am your grandmother!" She swooned as she continued to crush the boy who was struggling in her grip. She was surprisingly strong even though she was elderly.

"Can't… breathe…!" Naruto wheezed as he weakly tried to push himself away from the woman. He was saved however when another person placed a hand on Harumi's shoulder, making her loosen her grip enough to allow the blonde access to oxygen again.

It was an elderly man with slightly tanned skin, a few wrinkles, and sharp, pronounced violet eyes. He had long white hair that cascaded down to mid-back, a long moustache with a very long white beard that had a red bow tied at the end of it. He wore a long-sleeved black kimono (**A/N: think of Bleach's Soul Reapers**) that was held together by a white obi sash; he also wore wooden sandals and a white haori that clung at the shoulders and draped over his back. The white haori bore the blue maelstrom symbol that seemed to pop up everywhere around the room.

"Maa maa, Haru-chan," the old man said as he smiled at the old woman with kindness showing in his old eyes, "let the boy breathe for a minute. I haven't even introduced myself yet!"

Harumi glared at the newcomer with a piercing look before she sighed and reluctantly set Naruto back down on his own two feet with a huff. "You're lucky you're my husband, Ryuu. If it was anyone else, I would've whacked them for saying that I should let go of _my grandchild_!" She pouted before she stalked over to her seat on the other side of the long dining table, sitting across from Akihiko.

Ryuu chuckled at his wife's stubborn attitude before he turned his attention to the small boy next to him. The boy was looking up at him with curious yet awestruck blue eyes that made the old Daimyo smile in satisfaction.

Truly, he does bear the uncanny resemblance of his mother… He thought before he reached out a hand towards the blonde boy. "Come now Naruto-kun, I am sure that you have plenty of questions that would like to have answered yes?" The boy nodded vigorously making the old man laugh heartily. "Alright then." Ryuu led the whiskered child over to his seat, which was at the end of the long table, and he sat crossed legged on the red pillow. He smiled warmly at his grandson as he patted his legs. "Come now, sit on my lap. Don't be frightened for I will not hurt you."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, his mind decisive and unsure. But once he saw the kindness of this old man's eyes and how he had a nice and warm air around him, it calmed him greatly and he proceeded to get into the man's lap. He was shocked at first by how warm Ryuu's body was, and Naruto was even more surprised when he found himself liking the warmth that was being given to him. When he was back in Konoha, he never felt the warmth of having a mother or a father or any relative. It was always cold all by his lonesome without anyone giving him the time of day to even hold his hand. Now he was reunited with his long lost family again and they were showering him with all of their attention in a good kind of way. That thought made Naruto's heart swell with joy and he snuggled deeper into his newfound grandfather's chest with a giant grin plastered on his face.

Ryuu smiled brightly at Naruto's reaction and started to gently stroke his spiky blonde head soothingly. It saddened him to know that Konohagakure did not treat his grandchild with the respect he so rightly deserved and it angered him to no end of how they treated an innocent young boy so brutally. If it weren't for the CRA contract with the Hyuuga Clan, he would've marched up to that retched village himself and burned it to the ground. No child of the Uzumaki would be treated unjustly without dealing with wrath of the clan first.

Ryuu cleared his throat before he patted the blonde's head to further gain his attention. "I suppose it would be wise to formally introduce myself." Ryuu smiled and jabbed a thumb into his chest. "I am known as the Daimyo of the Whirlpool Nation and the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools. I am the leader of the hailed and fearsome clan of the Uzumaki. But my name is Ryuu Uzumaki, and I am your grandfather Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes sparkled and he scrambled out of his grandfather's lap to stand up with a large smile slapped across his face. "Whoa! You're that cool and your my grandpa?!" He suddenly started to bounce up and down in his spot as he bombarded Ryuu with a ton of questions. "Hey, how powerful are you? Can you beat a Kage? Have you ever taken down an army? What's your favorite food? Why's you hair so long?"

Ryuu along with Harumi and Akihiko laughed at the boy's bountiful energy. Yep, he certainly was like his mother. "I am very powerful, yes I can take down a Kage, I have taken down a fleet of five thousand shinobi strong, my favorite food his pork ramen, and my hair is long because I want it to be." Ryuu answered with an amused smile. "Does that answer all of your questions Naruto-kun?"

Said boy nodded vigorously before he brought up another question. "You like ramen like me?!"

Ryuu nodded and was about to answer but he was interrupted by his wife. "Of course he does! We all do! We are Uzumaki after all!" Harumi smiled hugely. "Even though I'm not an Uzumaki by blood, I still love ramen just as much as any other Uzumaki!"

Naruto was astounded. He had family who liked ramen just as much as he did. Those who saw him eat ramen back in Konoha would've said that he acted like a gluttonous pig; and they would've teased him of how fitting it was to see the demon brat behave like an animal. It still stung but he hoped that his new family wouldn't think that his eating habits weren't too overbearing.

Naruto smiled and was about to ask something else food oriented but he stopped himself when he remembered something. Something he wanted to know desperately since the moment he could talk. His parents. His eyes casted down and he went into a state of awkward silence. Why wasn't he speaking? Here he was with a group of people he knew his mother and possibly his father. He craved for this piece of information for years, just to have some sort of closure in his crumby life. But somehow, he couldn't find the right words to say what he felt.

Ryuu saw the hesitation and silence his grandson had suddenly gone into. He looked depressed and remorsefully and it ripped the old man's heart in two to see his kin into such an awful state. He looked to his son who only nodded and did his wife. They all thought the same thing.

"You're mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki." The Daimyo began, catching the young boy's attention as he looked up at his grandfather. "She was the princess of the Land of Whirlpool, wife of the Fourth Hokage, and my precious daughter."

Naruto's entire world froze within an instant. What did he just say? He hoped that his ears weren't playing some cruel joke on him because he would be severely annoyed if he heard his grandfather wrong. "M-My dad is the… is the Fourth Hokage…?!" Naruto said barely above a whisper as he turned as white as a ghost.

All three Uzumaki nodded with gentle smiles on their faces. "Old man Sarutobi must've not told you that huh?" Akihiko grinned. "Don't see why not though. From what I've heard, having _any_ relationship with the great Minato Namikaze would've earned you big shot rankings in the elemental nations."

Naruto just couldn't believe it. His mother was a royal princess and his father was the great FOURTH HOKAGE! He looked at his family and they looked back at him with smiling faces. He looked for any deceit but he only found kindness and truth in their eyes. His heart swelled with happiness and he was about to pounce on them when another daunting thought made its way present into the reassess of his mind.

The blonde lad began to fidget with his hands as his eyes flinted hesitantly between his family and the table. "I-If you guys really are my family, then why was I in the orphanage? Didn't you want me?" He asked in a whisper not looking at his grandfather. Before Ryuu could speak, Harumi spoke for him.

She slammed her hands on the table, rattling the plates and silverware. "Never, _ever_, believe for a _second_ that we didn't want you Naruto. The Leaf had not contact us in years so we thought that the newborn son she gave birth to died along with her through a… unfortunate occurrence." Harumi bent over the table, picked up Naruto from Ryuu's lap, and cradled him in her arms like a newborn babe. "Once we did find out you were alive, our village was still in ruins from the Second Great Ninja War. We had to rebuild everything, including our army back to its former glory. Once we were finished, many years had passed and that's when—"

"—me and Masayoshi went out to getcha from that hellhole of a place." Akihiko said, finishing up his mother's sentence with folded arms and a scowl. "Bunch of idiots…"

Naruto looked towards the man that was his uncle, the woman that was his grandmother, and the man that was his grandfather. He didn't understand why the village said he was dead but he didn't care right now. After long, excruciating years of being exiled, lonely, mistreated, abuse, scorned, ostracized, and horrid other things, he finally had a family that actually cared about him, and Naruto had never been happier.

"Ne ne, Grandpa, can you tell me more about my mom and my dad?" Naruto smiled at the man hopefully as he snuggled further into his grandmother's arms.

Ryuu smiled. "Of course Naruto-kun, anything for you." He looked up at the ceiling and thought long and hard. "Let's see… where to start…" He suddenly brightened and stroked his long white beard with long, lazy strokes. "Ah yes, that will do nicely indeed." Harumi and Akihiko smiled happily as the older Uzumaki began to tell the little boy everything there was to know about his mother and father. They even added their own little input here and there when the man seemed to get stuck. They all talked and laughed until their dinner was served.

…

Naruto yawned tiredly as he clung unto his grandmother's hand as they walked down a corridor. They had all just finished dinner and Harumi took him out when his grandfather and uncle had to discuss some important things. It was something about some sort of coronation or whatever. But the tanned, whiskered child couldn't believe the spread that they had for dinner that evening. They were served riceballs, sashimi, grilled fish, sushi, dango, zenzai (red bean soup), and dumplings, tons of rice, grilled meat, and even more yummy stuff that Naruto could ever dream of. They even had some food that he didn't recognize yet they still tasted amazing!

Now the happily full boy with a fairly distended belly was walking with Harumi towards the medical area where the ship's nurse worked. The old woman had told him that he needed to get those bruises and cuts checked out so they wouldn't become infectious. Naruto didn't argue for he was still immersed in the afterglow of having a full course meal for the very first time in his young life.

"Well, here we are." The red headed woman said as they stopped in front of a lone door. There was a white plaque above the door with the word "Nurse's Office" etched onto it. The dim lights illuminated the sign giving it an eerie look that made Naruto a bit unnerved. Light was coming out of the bottom of the door meaning that someone was inside; Harumi knocked on the door three times and waited. The two Uzumaki heard loud grumblings from inside and something falling with a loud crash. Heavy footsteps loudly lumbered towards the door until it stopped with the door suddenly swinging open and slapped hard against the wall, almost making it fly off of its hinges.

It was a fair skinned woman who was leaning against the door's frame with an entire bottle of sake in her hand as she gave them both an annoyed look. She had glossy light brown hair that was tied into a high ponytail that reached a little over her shoulder and piercing black eyes. She had a lithe and lean build with slim arms, taut legs and abdominal muscles. She wore white lab coat with a sleeves red tank top that stopped above her navel, a smooth and black short skirt, and black shinobi sandals with heels.

"Lady Harumi," the woman spoke with a slurred voice as a frown adorned her face, "to what do I owe the honor… Are you sick or somethin'?"

"Quite the opposite Manami." Harumi stated with a flat tone and an annoyed glare. She absolutely hated to see such a beautiful woman resort to drinking even of her high medical status in Whirlpool. _Oh how the generations have fell…_ The wife of the Daimyo thought as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose to quell her growing anger. "I need to you to heal my grandson." She said as she gently pushed the boy forward who was staring at Manami with curious eyes. "He has experienced some… unfortunate wounds during his time at Konohagakure no Sato."

Manami raised a brow. "Unfortunate huh?" She bent down to get onto Naruto's eyes level and gave him a once over. She looked back into his eyes to see him staring right back at her. "So, what's your name kid?"

The boy beamed and jabbed a thumb into his chest. "The names Naruto Uzumaki," he said before he suddenly pinched his nose and wave a hand into front of his face, "and boy does your breath stink lady! You reek!"

A large vein bursted onto Manami's forehead and she punched atop of the boy's spiky blonde head, **hard**. Naruto cried out in pain and tried to soothe the smarting welt that was on his head. "Hey what gives you old hag?!" He screamed childishly with watered eyes.

"_**Old**_… _**hag**_…?" Manami bit out while her shoulders trembled with anger. She gave the boy an intimate death glare that made Naruto sweat nervously and gulp in fear. He quickly hid behind Harumi who was trying to hold in her laughter. "A-Alright Manami settle down." Harumi chuckled as she wiped away her tears. "He's only a boy, cut him some slack. And besides, he needs your help and he _is_ your patient this evening."

Said woman just snorted before she stalked inside the room, chugging down her sake with greedy gulps. Harumi smiled at Naruto who was still quivering in fear behind her leg and led the boy inside despite his protests.

"Don't worry my little Naruto-kun," Harumi said as she tried to reassure the quivering boy, "despite her cold exterior, Manami is the best nurse you can find in the entire Whirlpool Nation. Her family has been serving ours for generations so she's a very close friend of ours, and soon to be yours too."

Naruto looked up at his grandmother before looking back at the drunkard woman who had plopped down on a rolling stool with a heavy thud. She was glaring at him while a nice pink blush stained her cheeks from all of the alcohol. She was slightly teetering in her seat as she clutched onto her sake bottle like it was her lifeline. The blonde felt that they wouldn't get along to well considering the fact that she looked as if she was going to through the bottle right at him.

"H-Hey you brat…" Naruto jumped and was brought out of his revere when he saw Manami address him. She gave him one last once over with leering black eyes before waving him over with a lazy hand. "Come over here so we can get this crap over and done with." Naruto gave his grandmother one last look before he went over to Manami climbed onto the examination table that was next to her. "Take off your shirt."

"What for?!" Naruto said cautiously as he gripped his shirt hard.

Manami put in the earplugs of her stethoscope into her ears before she sighed in annoyance. "So I can help you get better you brat! I am a nurse after all." Naruto looked at her skeptically before reluctantly pulled up his shirt over his head and set it beside him. Both of the women gasped once they saw the physical state the young boy was in. He had welts and bruises littered across his young body. Three long cuts slashed across his torso and had an angry red glow to them like if at the slightly touch they would reopen again. Manami stood up, grabbed his shoulders, and slightly twisted him so she could take a look at his back. He had a particularly giant bruise that was the size of a shoe that started from his left shoulder and stopped at mid-back.

Manami's eyes widened before she let go of Naruto's shoulders to look at him straight in the eye. "Who did this to you Naruto?" She asked in a quiet whisper.

Naruto ducked his head to avoid the woman's piercing gaze. His small fingers unconsciously started to graze along his three cuts on his torso, causing him to wince in pain. "The villagers back at the Leaf." He answered in a small voice. "They kinda sorta hate my guts and they attacked me a lot whenever I got too close to them." He rubbed the back of his head as his eyes closed that was known infamously in the Hidden Leaf. "They called me demon brat or monster all the time and I only pulled a few pranks, I don't think that's like a monster, is it?"

Manami just narrowed her eyes at the boy's story with folded arms. It seemed that the Leaf was becoming too chaotic to attack a child that had no idea what was inside him. _It's more of a gift than a curse…_ Manami thought as she pinched the bridge of her nose. _With the amplified chakra that is distributed throughout his body, thanks to his _tenant_, his healing factor as increased tenfold… Truly a magnificent benefit to his person, but the others doesn't seem to think so… the idiots…_

Harumi on the other hand, was seething with rage. Her teeth ground together, her blood boiled, and her violet eyes glinted dangerously as she thought of the many deaths she was going to inflict the next time she went to that damnable place. _They _**dare**_ do that to _**my grandson**_ of over something that he has no control over?! _The old woman's chakra spiked dangerously high, giving way to her anger. _Hiruzen Sarutobi you better have a good explanation for when I come back because I'm going after your sorry ass first!_

* * *

Hiruzen was busy signing some papers of the many documents that was stationed on his desk. He sighed but he shook as a dreaded cold feeling suddenly washed over him. He looked around his office to find the source of the sudden coldness but there was nothing there. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomache that something unfortunate was going to happened to him soon.

* * *

The next few days flew by fast for Naruto. He spent a lot of time with his family as much as he could to make up for those four long years of solitude. The blonde really liked his family, even if his uncle Akihiko always seemed to get annoyed fairly easily. Naruto also warmed up to Manami even though the woman always got mad at him whenever he was annoying her too much. Apparently that happened a lot. Even though she had a gruff exterior, she was really kindhearted and nice once she warmed up to him. She always took care of him whenever he got hurt and fussed over him when he couldn't take his medicine before she ultimately forced it down his throat.

The blonde Uzumaki also spent most of his time with his grandfather, Ryuu Uzumaki. The Daimyo told him many stories of his mother and his new home at Whirlpool Country. The boy was fascinated by them and couldn't wait to see his new home; his grandfather had told him that they would be arriving soon in a few hours. Naruto was also told by his family that since he was the prince of Whirlpool, he would be instructed in both samurai and ninja arts and had many other duties as a prince. The boy had always wanted to be a ninja but being a samurai as well sounded like a pretty sweet deal to him. His mother, Kushina Uzumaki, had been trained in both arts and she was amazingly strong from what his family and some of the samurai on the ship told him. The samurai were very nice to him unlike the villagers at the Hidden leaf Village and they always treated him with the upmost respect. They even went as far as calling him Naruto-sama or Uzumaki-sama that made the boy very uncomfortable, but his grandfather reassured by saying that it was a form showing their respect to him and the Uzumaki family. Ryuu also told him that he had better get used to it because he was going hear those names all lot for most of his life.

Right now the boy was clutching the bars of the rails at the front of the boat as he gazed out at the sea with a happy expression on his face. He had two samurai guards by his side but he was busy enjoying the gentle caress of the gentle winds in his spiky blonde hair as he neared his new home. He sniffed the air and smelled the saltiness of the sea and the purity of the air. He was brought out of his relaxation however, when he heard the guards say "Ryuu-sama" before leaving his side. The boy instantly whipped around and latched onto his grandfather like a koala bear hugging a eucalyptus tree. "Grandpa!" Naruto beamed as he tightened his hold with glee.

Ryuu laughed heartily at his grandson's behavior before ruffling the boy's head with a large, tanned hand. "Good Morning Naruto-kun, I hope you took your medicine when you got out of bed this morn. Or I might have to tell Manami to give you another shot."

Naruto's face instantly went pale as he shook his head vigorously. A couple of days ago Naruto refused to take his disgusting and vile medicine Manami offered him. She smiled at him with an evil glint in her eyes and she said it was fine, but before the boy could celebrate, Manami quickly pulled out a syringe and drove the needle into his arm making him yelp in pain. After that, Naruto never complained about taking his medicine, and his grandparents and uncle loved teasing him about it.

"No!" Naruto screamed. "I took my medicine, promise!"

Ryuu chuckled. "Good, now please go change into your formal kimono Naruto-kun. We are almost arriving upon Nagisa port. As soon as we arrive, we will take a carriage from there to the city of Whirlpool Country, Kawthar. And from there on we will ride horses to the Palace Square."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion with closed-eyes. "Hey Grandpa, why don't we take the carriages to the Palace Square?"

"Because Naruto-kun," Ryuu explained as he pulled Naruto away from his torso and held the boy in his strong arms. "The people of Whirlpool want to see their new prince. They loved your mother and I'm positive they will love you just as much. Now come, the new prince must be dressed in the right attire to greet his loyal subjects."

…

Naruto was sitting in a carriage with his grandfather already waiting inside. Their carriage was beautifully made of sleek dark oak wood; it had white silk curtains on each of the carriages frames with red dragons and whirlpools delicately stitched onto them. And to add the final touch, there was the Whirlpool's banner that was pinned gloriously on a pole that was on top of the carriage.

The boy heard a few words being conversed outside before the carriage shook and was hoisted up into the air. Naruto was uncomfortable at first, what with him not attached to the ground, but he slowly regained his bearings and calmed down. The blonde was wearing an orange yukata that was held together by a red obi sash and had a big folded bow in the back. He also wore wooden sandals just like his grandfather.

Suddenly there was a loud chorus of noises coming from outside of the carriage. Naruto leaned over to one of the curtains and was about to pull it open but he looked at Ryuu as if for permission.

The old Daimyo chucked and waved an approving hand. "Go ahead Naruto-kun, take a look."

The boy nodded and moved the curtains a little bit to allow his head to poke through. The Whirlpool fleet had arrived to the cheering crowds as many locals had received word of the arrival of the lost prince and hurried to meet the voyagers. It was a surreal experience for young Naruto. He had been despised and mistreated for as long as he could remember in his short life. But these people clapped and cheered with glee as the carriages were carried by, and when the whiskered child poked his head through the curtains the cheers and claps roared even louder. As they were carried over the long bridge that led to another part of Whirlpool Country, he saw the sign that said "Great Uzumaki Bridge" in bold, black kanji letters. And he was surprised further when he saw that there were cheering crowds on either sides of the great bridge but nothing prepared the boy for what he saw next as they reached the end of the bridge and got on their designated horses. As they passed the massive, beautifully handcrafted golden gates with a samurai escort to keep the raving crowd at bay, Naruto got one of the biggest surprises of his life.

"Welcome to Palace Square kid!" A gruff yet familiar voice said as he rode up next to the gaping boy on a black stallion. It was Akihiko dressed in an elegant red and white kimono with a long white haori with blue trims and edges with the kanji for "Kenjutsu" on his back, a sword that had a black, red, and gold hilt that was placed in a black sheath and was strapped to his hip.

Palace Square was a cluster of perfectly made wooden houses and markets. The streets bustled with people and patrolling samurai alike. Traditional torri's (Japanese gates) [5] stood high above the houses and markets, and had different names written on their white plagues to signify what district a person was in. Naruto also rode by farming areas where there were green lush fields and rice paddy fields as far as the eye could see. Farmers were hard at work but they seemed very happy as they were doing their laborious tasks. Some even looked up from their work to wave excitedly at Naruto before returning to their work.

"We treat all people of all walks of life here with equal respect." Naruto looked up at his uncle when he spoke. "No matter if you're from a rich family or a poor family, in our eyes everyone is worth something, no matter what status you may have. That is the Uzumaki Code that all Uzumaki have followed for many generations." He smiled down at Naruto before he ruffled his head. "C'mon, we're falling behind everyone else so let's catch up." Akihiko snapped his reign and his horse neighed before it galloped after the samurai entourage.

Naruto blinked as he watched his uncle ride away on his black stallion. Something suddenly clicked in his brain as he realized that he didn't even know what his horse looked like. He was on a tall, chestnut colored horse with white markings on its snout, legs, hooves, and the underside of its belly. It had an excessive amount of long white hair on its lower legs but that made it look even more magnificent. Its muscles bunched and rippled under its pelt and it pawed at the dirt with a hoof as if it was annoyed that it wasn't in motion.

Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion before he slowly gripped the black reign and stared at it quizzically. "Umm, cha?" the boy mumbled as he cracked the reign like a whip and kicked his heels into its belly.

That was a BIG mistake.

The reaction was instantaneous. The stallion reared up on its hind legs and whinnied as it kicked out with its frontal hooves. Naruto screamed as he was nearly thrown back by the horses suddenly action before he clung on the reign in a death grip as the horse plopped back on all fours again and galloped at a fast speed. Naruto had never been horseback riding before and he was wishing he had. The chestnut stallion hooves trampled into the ground, its muscles bunching and contracting as it gained speed. Naruto on the other hand was shouting and screamed as he bounced on the horse's back dangerously and clutched onto the reign like a lifeline.

The blonde saw that they were approaching his family and the samurai entourage at a dangerous pace. He yelped in surprise when his horse suddenly jumped over a log and sailed through the air. The horse regained its momentum after reconnecting with the ground and continued its speedy galloping. As they neared Naruto only had time to yell a few words to warn them.

"Help…! Outta control horse…! Move…!" He butchered out as he continued to warble on the horse's back. But it was enough for his accompaniment to turn and look to see the lost prince get manhandled by a horse. The samurai panicked that they hadn't better guarded the prince and by the speed he was going, it would be hard to stop his horse.

"Naruto!" Akihiko screamed as he pulled his horse around to face the incoming child and stallion. "Pull the reign! Pull the reign to stop the horse!"

Naruto nodded and with a mighty heave he yanked the reign back. His stallion bellowed a complaintive neigh before slowly down and sliding to a complete stop into front of Akihiko and his stallion. Everyone sighed in relief with Naruto's being the loudest. Ryuu ordered that a samurai led Naruto's horse and they continued on their trek.

His grandmother pulled her pure white horse next to his and ruffled the boy's hair. "Naruto once we get home, I'm going to have to teach you horseback riding." Naruto nodded and let out another sigh. They walked over a small bridge over a large lake where an enormous temple resided. The temple was colored red with black tiling and was two stories high. It had two samurai districts at its side and cherry blossom trees that were planted on the other side of the bridge along with a tall black gate that surrounded it with samurai guards positioned at the front. Once they saw them they quickly opened the gate and bowed humbly as they came through.

Naruto gaped as he took in the giant temple that towered over him. Harumi smiled as she looked at the temple as well. "Welcome home Naruto!" She beamed as she rode ahead of the boy.

Naruto smiled. He liked the sound of that, and if possible, he smiled the biggest smile he had in years. "I'm… home…" was all Naruto said as he and his horse was led towards the temple.

The lost heir of Whirlpool was finally home at last.

* * *

_Next time on The Lost Clan of Whirlpool: Central Guardians and Training_

* * *

**OH GOLLY GOSH GOLLY! I AM FINALLY FINISHED, THANK GOD! My dudes and dudettes I am so so so so SO sorry for not finishing this story sooner! School's a real bummer and its dragging me down ya knows! I'll try to finish my stories faster, but until then please give me some time! Arigato!**

**If you have sneezed through this whole story then GOD BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE! Anyway, I'll see ya guys later in the next chappie!**

**Kenjutsu [1] – **_The art of sword fighting._

**Kikaichū [2] – **_A species of small, beetle-like parasitic insects that are bred and utilized exclusively by the Aburame Clan, forming the basis for their unique techniques and fighting styles._

**Rikudō Sennin/Sage of Six Paths [3] – **_The father of shinobi and the great ninja arts._

**Roku Kyoshi [4] – **_The six great masters of ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, fuuinjutsu, kenjutsu, and senjutsu._

**Torii [5]** – _A Traditional Japanese gate that was used in the feudal eras to signify holy meaning among the priests._


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